Proposed SCAO-Approved Court Forms

The following forms and issues will be presented to the Michigan Court Forms Committee at its upcoming meeting and are published for a 30-day comment period to elicit input for discussion by the Committee. All comments received during the comment period will be included in the Committee's agenda materials and mailed to committee members two weeks before the scheduled meeting.

The meeting schedule of the Michigan Court Forms Committee for 2008 is as follows:

• Circuit and District Court Section (includes domestic relations) - Thursday, March 6, 2008
• Friend of the Court Section - Thursday, March 20, 2008
• Probate Court Section - Thursday, September 4, 2008
• Family Division of Circuit Court Section - Thursday, September 18, 2008

Comments may be made by mailing a written letter to SCAO-Approved Court Forms at PO Box 30048, Lansing, Michigan 48909 or by sending an e-mail to CourtFormsInfo@courts.mi.gov. Inquiries may be made by telephoning the Forms Unit at 517-373-4864.

Proposals for September, 2008

Proposals for Probate Court Section
          Published July 16, 2008
          Comment Period Expires August 14, 2008

General Probate and Estate Court Forms

MC 316, Order for Change of Venue: A suggestion has been made to revise this form so that it can be used in the probate court and the family division of circuit court. See the current form.

PC 572, Letters of Authority: A question has been raised whether the date as to the full force and effect of the letters referred to in the certification should refer instead to the date the letters were signed by the judge.  See the current form.

PC 582, Selection of Homestead Allowance and Exempt Property: Notice is provided that the only JIS code that will remain on the form is FAM. See the current form.

PC 583 and PC 584, Account of Fiduciary: A suggestion has been made to add a check box in the title for indicating an amendment. See the current forms PC 583 and PC 584.

PC 599, Memorandum of Administrative Closing: A question has been raised whether this form can be used in situations where both the guardian and the ward have left the state.  Is jurisdiction retained pursuant to MCL 700.5307 even when the guardian and ward move?  Also, MCL 700.5308 provides the conditions for termination and this situation is not included.  See also MCR 5.404(F)(1).  Should the court remove the guardian and appoint a special to petition for termination or else the have the guardian petition for termination because of the move?  There does not appear to be any authority under current law or court rule for the court to terminate on its own motion in this situation.  The committee is asked to provide its conclusion. See the current form.

 PC 600, Notice of Deficiency: It has been noted that either the second option requires a revision to the parenthetical  statement because of the new inventory for conservatorship form (PC 674) or another option should be added to the form that specifically advises the fiduciary that he/she needs to file PC 674.  It is recommended that a separate item be added for the court to check so that the fiduciary doesn’t have to decide which form to file. See the current form.

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Guardianship and Conservatorship Court Forms

PC 632, Order Appointing Temporary Guardian of Incapacitated Individual: A suggestion has been made to add options to the order to indicate specifically that the petition has been granted, denied on the merits, or dismissed/withdrawn.  If approved, this would require a change in the title and the addition of a finding that the individual is not in need of a guardian.  A draft of the form is provided.

PC 634, Annual Report of Guardian on Condition of Legally Incapacitated Individual: A request has been made by a community mental health representative to separate the two references for foster home and boarding home in item 3b. See the current form.

PC 638, Petition to Terminate or Modify Guardianship/Petition to Terminate or Modify Conservatorship: A request has been made to split this form into three forms: one for all guardianships except developmentally disabled persons, one for conservatorships, and one for developmentally disabled persons.  It has been suggested that this will assist in processing the different petitions.  A question to consider is whether the case-type code is an adequate identifier, and if so, could the one form be retained for use in any guardianship or conservatorship proceeding.  Drafts of the three different forms are provided.

Another request is to amend item 2 by requiring the petitioner to list all interested persons and their addresses, not just those that have changed or have been added since the filing of the original petition. See the current form.

PC 639, Petition for Appointment of Conservator and/or Protective Order: Two amendments are needed: (1) reference to MFIA needs to be changed to MDHS in item 8; and (2) the options in item 9 need to be changed to comply with an amendment to MCR 5.125(C)(22).  A draft is provided.

PC 645, Letters of Conservatorship: A suggestion has been made to further limit the restrictions regarding real estate by stating that the conservator may not sell, mortgage, or otherwise encumber real property without court approval.  MCL 700.5423(3) says that “[a] conservator shall not sell or otherwise dispose of the protected individual's real property or interest in real property without approval of the court. The court shall only approve the sale or other disposal of the real property or interest in real property if, after a hearing with notice to interested persons as specified in the Michigan court rules, the court considers evidence of the value of the real property or interest in real property and otherwise determines that the sale or other disposal is in the protected individual's best interest.”  Should the additional restrictions be stated as an option? See the current form.  

PC 646, Petition for Approval of Sale of Real Estate: A suggestion has been made to add language to item 4 as follows: “The current bond is $_____________.”  This helps the court in determining the proper amount of the bond to be set. See the current form.

 PC 653, Order Regarding Appointment of Guardian/Limited Guardian of Minor: A suggestion has been made to placed check boxes in front of items 9 through 13 for situations when the petition is denied or dismissed (item 8). See the current form.

PC 655, Report for Court Review of Minor Guardianship and PC 656, Order Following Hearing on Status of Minor Guardianship: Minor revisions were made to these forms in 2007; however, they were placed on hold in order to discuss a concern about placing the child in the “custody” of the parent.  MCL 700.5209 does not refer to custody and the use of the term might imply that a custody order is being entered, which is not the case.  See specifically item 4 on PC 655 and item 8 on PC 656.  It is suggested that item 8 of PC 656 be revised to coincide with language in item 9. See the current forms PC 655 and PC 656.

PC 660, Order Appointing Guardian for Individual with Developmental Disability: A suggestion has been made to revise item 13a.  Plenary guardians are appointed until further order of the court rather than for a specific term of years. A suggestion has been made to add lines for the address and phone number of the standby guardian on form PC 663. Should these lines be added to this form as well? See the current form.

PC 663, Report of Guardian on Condition of Individual with Developmental Disability: A suggestion has been made to add lines for the address and phone number of the standby guardian. See the current form.

PC 669, Proof of Restricted Account and Annual Verification of Funds on Deposit: A request has been made to revise this form so that it can also be used for adult conservatorships. A similar request was made last year, but for use with guardianships.  The Committee declined to create a statewide form for that purpose.  A suggestion has been made to update the time from 14 days to 28 days pursuant to amended court rule. Several requests have been made to add a date range for the form.  Apparently, the amount provided by the financial institutions on the form does not match the amount on the statement.  Perhaps instructions for proper completion of the form should be added. Also, another JIS code (VFD) is being added to the form. See the current form.

Testimony Interested Person, Legally Incapacitated Individual: A request has been made to develop a new form such as the draft that has been provided for use with both a guardianship and a conservatorship petition. A draft is provided.

Notice of Proceedings Concerning American Indian Child: A request has been made to create a form similar to JC 48 for use with guardianhip proceedings pursuant to 25 USC 1903(1)(i) of the Indian Child Welfare Act.  No draft has been provided.  See current form JC 48.

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Mental Commitment and Judicial Admission Court Forms

PCM 220, Petition for Discharge from Treatment and PCM 222, Order Following Hearing on Petition to Discharge: A request has been made to reinstate references to the developmentally disabled person in these forms.  Although there are not a lot of judicial admissions, there are some and it is still useful to have forms for these situations. See previous forms PCM 220 and PCM 222. See current forms PCM 220 and PCM 222.

PCM 233, Notice of Right to Appeal Return and Appeal of Return from Authorized Leave: A minor revision is needed to correct a typographical error in the Notice section of the form.  See the current form.

PCM 241, Notice of Right to Object to Hospitalization, Objection and Demand for Hearing: Last year, the committee agreed with a recommendation from SCAO to consider developing a separate from for use with a return pursuant to a psychiatrist’s order because the basis for the request is much different than a return based on a court’s order.  The committee agreed.  After reviewing the form, statutes, and court rule more closely, the SCAO decided PCM 241 could be revised without causing confusion between the two different procedures.  A draft is provided.

New Forms, MCL 330.1519: Last year the committee suggested forms be created pursuant to MCL 330.1519 and asked SCAO to prepare drafts for discussion in 2008.  After reviewing the relevant statutes and the current forms, the SCAO has concluded that item 13c of form PCM 214a may be all that is necessary and no new forms need be developed. See form PCM 214a.

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Proposals for Family Division of Circuit Court Section
          Published July 24, 2008
          Comment Period Expires August 22, 2008

MC 28, Notice to prior court of Proceedings Affecting Minor(s): Standard language for the certificate of mailing was applied to this form in error.  Before changing the certificate of mailing back to its previous format, there are several questions for discussion.  First, is preparation and service of this notice a “matter of practice” in this particular instance, and if so, would MCR 3.205 supersede MCL 712A.3a pursuant to MCR 1.104 or do both the statute and the court rule apply?  Second, because service on parties or their attorneys is required generally by MCR 2.107(A)(1) and this form is used in more than just child protective and delinquency proceedings, should this notice also be served on the parties or does only MCR 3.206 apply? See the current form.

MC 316, Change of Venue: A suggestion has been made to adapt this form for use in family division cases. See the current form.

PC 52, Order Following Hearing on Petition to Change Name: A suggestion has been made to either revise this form to be used under both statutory law and common law or to create a separate order for name change by common law.  See the relevant Michigan case law (Kratzer v Lambright, 2003 WL 21186586 [Mich App 2003]; Piotrowski v Piotrowski, 71 Mich App 213 [1976]; and Rappleye v Rappleye, 183 Mich App 396 [1990]) . Also, there should be a check box in front of item 12 because the petition may be dismissed. See the current form.

PCA 301, Petition for Adoption, PCA 301a, Petition for Direct Placement Adoption,
PCA 330, Statement of Parent/Guardian Transferring Physical Custody of Child for Adoption, and PCA 340, Statement of Identifying Information: A concern has been raised about the propriety of providing a signature line on forms for a “person assisting petitioner” or an “agency.”  It appears this would encourage the unauthorized practice of law in contravention of MCL 600.916.  The above forms have been identified as containing such a signature line.  Should these references be deleted from these forms? See the current forms PCA 301, PCA 301a, PCA 330, and PCA 340.

PCA 323, Advice of Rights After Order Terminating Parental Rights: A correction is needed to the citation on the foot of the form from MCL 710.2 to MCL 710.27. See the current form.

Servicemembers’ Civil Relief Act: A suggestion has been made that the forms used under the Juvenile Code should be modified to include provisions that prevent courts from moving ahead in litigation matters against servicemembers who are deployed until certain safeguards are met.  Is it necessary to modify the forms, or is this a matter of court procedure separate from the forms?

JC 04b, Petition (Child Protective Proceedings): A request has been made to add space for DHS to list the reasonable efforts that have been made.  This would make the form a two-page form.  If this is undesirable, would an instruction in item 2 suffice instead? See the current form.

JC 05a, Order to Apprehend and Detain: A correction is needed to the citation in item 3(c) from MCR 712A.18 to MCL 712A.18. See the current form.

JC 11a, Order After Preliminary Hearing (Child Protective Proceedings), JC 19, Order Following Dispositional Review/Permanency Planning Hearing (Child Protective Proceedings), JC 63, Order Terminating Parental Rights (Child Protective Proceedings),
JC 75, Order Following Emergency Removal Hearing (Child Protective Proceedings), and
JC 76, Order After Post-Termination Review/Permanency Planning Hearing (Child
Protective Proceedings): These forms are affected by the passage of Public Acts 199, 200, and 203, effective immediately.  Specifically, JC 11a, JC 63, and JC 75 are affected by 2008 PA 199, JC 19 is affected by 2008 PA 200, and JC 76 is affected by 2008 PA 672.  Drafts of the suggested changes are attached. Also, with regard to JC 11a, there are several other questions:(1) is it necessary to provide check boxes for "does not" and "should not," (2) should there be a date for the prior order in item 12a, and (3) should there be some indication that items 18 and 24 correspond to one another? See the drafts of JC 11a, JC 19, JC 63, and JC 75. Form 76 will have changes similar to those on JC 19, but there are other items to consider such as termination of MCI as the special guardian, termination of care and supervision of DHS, and a finding that MCI has filed written consent of the guardianship with the court. Additional changes will also need to be considered with regard to JC 19.

JC 14a, Order of Disposition, In-Home (Delinquency Proceedings): It has been suggested that the note at the foot of JC 14a be either revised or removed to avoid misinterpretation by juveniles that fingerprints will be destroyed for all dismissals.  One suggestion is: “In some instances, your fingerprints and arrest card will be destroyed by the Michigan State Police within 60 days of the date of a dismissal.  For details, see MCL 28.243.” See the current form.

JC 38, Order for Reimbursement and New Form, Order for Restitution: A suggestion has been made to either include a section on this form for restitution or to create a separate order for restitution.  There are opinions that a separate judgment must be entered when restitution remains unpaid when a juvenile is being discharged from probation.  It is also believed that a separate order of restitution is necessary.  However, by operation of law, an order for restitution (whether by itself or incorporated in the order of disposition) remains effective until satisfied and it can be enforced in the same manner as a civil judgment without the need for entering a separate civil judgment.  Is it preferred to have a separate order of restitution even though unnecessary? See the current form.

JC 44, Advice of Rights After Order Terminating Parental Rights: A suggestion has been made to include a place on the form to indicate who’s rights are being terminated. See the current form.

JC 59, Order of Adjudication (Delinquency Proceedings): A suggestion has been made to add a statement that the offense adjudicated is abstractable.  Currently, this language appears on the order of disposition as a finding to remind the court that this should have been done after adjudication.  It is believed that this reminder should be on the order of adjudication.  See item 9 of JC 25 for specific language, which says: “The offense adjudicated is abstractable to the Secretary of State (under 257.625[20][a], 257.732, 324.80131, 324.81134[12], 324.81135[7], 324.82157, or 333.7408a[12]).  The juvenile’s driver’s license number is __________________.” See the current form.

JC 66, Application to Set Aside Adjudication and Order: The following language appears in the instructions for MC 227, Application to Set Aside Conviction: “[a]lthough an adjudication for a nontraffic offense reportable to the Secretary of State may be set aside by the court, as stated in MCL 257.732(22), the court cannot order the removal of the adjudication from the driving record.”   Should the form be revised to include this same statement? See the current form.

JC 70, Judgment of Conviction (Designated Cases): A suggestion has been made to revise the notice of firearms restriction on JC 70.  Currently, the term “firearm” is followed by a parenthetical that was intended only to as an example of certain kinds of firearms.  However, that parenthetical has caused some questions, so it has been suggested that it be changed to say “(as those terms are defined under federal and state law).” See the current form.

JC 74, Order of Probation (Designated Case): A suggestion has been made to revise the notice of firearms restriction on JC 74.  Currently, the term “firearm” is followed by a parenthetical that was intended only to as an example of certain kinds of firearms.  However, that parenthetical has caused some questions, so it has been suggested that it be changed to say “(as those terms are defined under federal and state law).” Also, the citation on the second page needs to be corrected from MCL 712A.18(1)(n) to MCL 712A.18(1)(m). See the current form.

JC 90, Order Correcting Identifying Information (Child Protective Proceedings): Last year the committee approved a suggestion to develop a statewide order to correct identifying information about children and their parents as this information appears in the legal file and requested that the draft be typeset for review in 2008.  The new draft is provided.

New Form, Settlement Offer and Notice of Acceptance: A suggestion has been made to develop a statewide form for recording plea agreements.  A draft is provided

New Form, Motion for Prisoner Participation: A request has been made to consider developing a motion for prisoners to use in requesting participation in family division proceedings.  No draft has been provided.

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