Chapter 4: Jurisdiction, Venue, and Transfer 
In this chapter. . .
This chapter outlines the authority of the Family Division of Circuit Court to act when child abuse or child neglect is alleged against a parent, guardian, juvenile guardian, nonparent adult, or legal custodian. This chapter also includes a discussion on venue and jurisdiction in intrastate, interstate, and international cases. However, this chapter does not contain an exhaustive discussion of jurisdiction in all circumstances. See Chapter 19 for a detailed discussion of jurisdiction over Indian children, and Chapter 20 for a detailed discussion of jurisdiction over appeals in child protective proceedings.
In child protective proceedings, venue is proper in the county where the child is found. MCL 712A.2(b). A child is found in the county where the offense against the child occurred or where the child is physically located. MCR 3.926(A).
Note: An offense against a child occurs when a parent, guardian, nonparent adult, or legal custodian acts or fails to act. MCR 3.903(C)(9).
The court may change venue on a party’s motion. MCR 3.926(D). Once a party files a motion for change of venue, the court may grant the motion for the convenience of the parties and witnesses or when an impartial hearing cannot be had where the action is pending. Id. The judge in the county to which the case is to be transferred must agree to hear the case. Id.
“The transferring court must enter all necessary orders pertaining to the certification and transfer of the action to the receiving court.” MCR 3.926(F). The court ordering the change of venue must also bear all the costs of the proceeding. MCR 3.926(D).
2.Transfer of Case to County of Residence
If a child is brought before the court in a county other than the county where the child resides, the court may, before a hearing, enter an order transferring jurisdiction over the matter to the court of the county of residence. MCR 3.926(B). The transfer may occur before trial. Id. “The court shall not order transfer of the case until the court to which the case is to be transferred has granted the request to accept the transfer.” Id.
a.Presumption of Child’s County of Residence
A county is presumed to be a child’s county of residence when:
(1) Both parents reside in the same county; or
(2) The child resides in the county with:
(a) a parent having legal custody of the child;
(b) a guardian;
(c) a legal custodian; or
(d) the child’s sole legal parent. MCR 3.926(B)(1).
If a child is placed in a county by court order or by an agency’s placement, the child must not be considered a resident of that county unless the placement is for adoption purposes. MCR 3.926(B)(3). See In re BZ, 264 Mich App 286, 292-293 (2004), where the Court found that a transfer of a child protective proceeding to the county where the child currently resided with relatives was not warranted when the child had been placed with the relatives following neglect allegations.
Note: In In re BZ, the child protective proceedings were initiated in Kent County where both parents and the child resided and where the alleged abuse occurred. In re BZ, 264 Mich App at 292. After the child was placed in a guardianship with a relative in another county, the court dismissed the petition. When the respondent-mother failed to comply with the family plan, the guardian filed a supplemental petition in Kent County requesting termination of the mother’s parental rights. The respondent-mother moved to transfer the case to the county where the child currently resided with the guardian. The referee denied the request, and the respondent-mother appealed. In affirming the referee’s ruling, the Court of Appeals held that the child was properly found within Kent County for purposes of subsequent proceedings when, pursuant to MCR 3.926, the neglect alleged in the original petition occurred in Kent County, the child was not considered a resident of the other county where he resided with his guardian, and Kent County had continuing jurisdiction over the child. In re BZ, supra at 290-293.
b.Criteria to Determine County of Residence
Where there is no presumption of county residence, the court must consider the following factors when determining a child’s county of residence:
(1) The parent’s, guardian’s, or legal custodian’s county of residence.
(2) Length of time a child has lived in a county, if ever he or she lived in the county.
(3) A parent’s move to another county since inception of the case.
(4) Another court’s previous continuing jurisdiction over the child.
(5) Existence of a court order that places a child in a county for purposes of adoption.
(6) A child’s intent to live in a county.
(7) Any other factor the court deems relevant. MCR 3.926(B)(2).
Upon the agreement of the transferring court and the receiving court, a case may be bifurcated between the two courts to permit adjudication in the transferring court and disposition in the receiving court. MCR 3.926(E).
Immediately after the transferring court enters its order of adjudication, the case may be returned to the receiving court. MCR 3.926(E). The transferring court must also send any supplemented pleadings and other records to the receiving court. MCR 3.926(F).
C.Responsibility for Costs of Disposition
When disposition is ordered by a court that is not located in the county where the child resides, the court ordering disposition is responsible for any costs incurred in connection with the order. MCR 3.926(C). However, the court in the county where the child resides may agree to pay such dispositional costs. Id.