The following policies and procedures operational within the Macomb County Friend of the Court Office have been reviewed and approved by the judges of the Sixteenth Judicial Family Court.
Friend of the Court Fees
Pursuant to statute, a Friend of the Court filing fee will be required in all domestic cases involving minor children and said fee will be assessed as follows:
A $40.00 filing fee is to be paid to the county clerk’s office upon filing a final judgment and order where support of a minor child is established or modified. A filing fee is to be paid to the county clerk’s office upon a final judgment and order where parenting time and/or custody is established or modified. If a motion is filed regarding custody and/or parenting time, the filing fee is $80.00. This fee schedule was established by statute effective October 1, 2004. The court requires a $20.00 motion fee when a motion is filed with the Macomb County clerk. Also, effective February 28, 2005 a new fee entitled “contempt fee” has been created. This fee, not to exceed $100.00, may be ordered when the parties are found in contempt by the court.
Ex Parte Interim Relief
An ex parte interim order of support, custody, parenting time and attorney fees may be obtained immediately upon filing of a complaint. Any other relief sought would require an appropriate motion being filed in the family court requesting additional relief.
Mediation
The Friend of the Court staff provides informal mediation services to resolve custody and parenting time disputes. Informal mediation is conducted by custody investigators, judicial service officers, and referees. If you seek formal mediation, you may contract to have a private mediator resolve your custody and parenting time disputes.
Child Support Adjustments
In all post-judgment cases wherein an order of support has been established, the support order may be modified if the payer becomes unemployed or disabled. The payer of child support must personally appear in the Friend of the Court Office and document the unemployment or disability and reduced earnings. At that time, a motion to adjust support arrearages may be filed on behalf of the payer, setting forth the existing financial circumstances and the reduced support amount. Copies of this motion will be mailed to both the payer and payee by the Friend of the Court Office. The payer shall notify the Friend of the Court when (s)he returns to
employment. Upon receipt of this notification, the Friend of the Court will present to the court an ex parte order adjusting the arrearages of the child support account based upon the unemployment/disability. A true copy of the ex parte order will be mailed to the payer and payee by the Friend of the Court. If the payee objects to the motion to temporarily reduce child support or the ex parte order, the Friend of the Court will schedule the matter for hearing before the court.
Reasonable Rights of Parenting Time (formerly known as Visitation)
Under state law, the judge assigned to a domestic relations case with minor children will determine the “reasonable rights of parenting time” for the parents. In order to enforce parenting time, the parties must have a specific order specifying the parenting time. The Macomb County family court has utilized the following schedule for parenting time, in the absence of special circumstances:
A. Weekend Parenting Time - Every other weekend from 6:00 p.m. Friday until 7:00 p.m. Sunday (during the school year), and 8:00 p.m. Sunday (during the summer).
B. Weekday Parenting Time – One evening per week from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on a weekday to be determined by the parties. If unable to agree, it will be on Thursday. 9:00 p.m. extended return during the summer months.
C. Holidays –
(1) Father will have these specified holidays in all odd-numbered years, and mother will have these holidays in all even-numbered years:
• Memorial Day Weekend from Friday at 6:00 p.m. until Memorial Day at 7:00 p.m. • Labor Day Weekend from Friday at 6:00 p.m. until Labor Day at 7:00 p.m.
(2) Father will have the following holidays in all even-numbered years and mother will have these holidays in all odd-numbered years:
• Fourth of July from July 3rd at 6:00 p.m. until July 5th at 7:00 p.m. • Halloween from 4:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. on October 31.
• Thanksgiving weekend from 6:00 p.m. the Wednesday evening before
Thanksgiving until 7:00 p.m. Sunday.
D. Mother’s Day and Father’s Day – The child(ren) will be with the mother for the entire Mother’s Day weekend and with the father for the entire Father’s Day weekend from Friday at 6:00 p.m. until Sunday at 7:00 p.m. Normal parenting time schedule resumes after the Mother/Father’s Day weekend.
E. Christmas/Winter Break
(1) In all odd-numbered years, father’s Christmas parenting time will be from 6:00 p.m. on the last day of the child(ren)’s school until 9:00 p.m. on December 24th. Mother’s Christmas parenting time will be from 9:00 p.m. on December 24th until 7:00 p.m. the day before school resumes.
(2) In all even-numbered years, mother’s Christmas parenting time will be from 6:00 p.m. on the last day of the child(ren)’s school until 9:00 p.m. on December 24th. Father’s Christmas parenting time will be from 9:00 p.m. on December 24th until 7:00 p.m. the day before school resumes.
(3) If the child is not of school age, the school vacation schedule of the district where the child resides will be followed.
F. Easter/Spring Break and Mid-Winter Break
Father will have the Easter/Spring Break in even-numbered years and Mid-Winter Break in odd-numbered years. Mother will have the Easter/Spring Break in odd-numbered years and Mid-Winter Break in even numbered years. Spring and Mid-Winter parenting time begins at 6:00 p.m. the day school recesses and concludes at 7:00 p.m. the evening before the school resumes.
G. Summer Parenting Time
(1) Three (3) weeks (only 2 weeks consecutive) for each parent.
(a) The single week shall consist of seven (7) consecutive overnights to begin on a Sunday at 8:00 p.m. The custodial parent’s vacation week may not disrupt the non-custodial parent’s alternating weekend.
(b) The two-week period shall consist of 14 consecutive overnights to begin on a Sunday at 8:00 p.m.
(2) Both parties must agree to a schedule of these dates by May 1st.
H. Extra Curricular Activities – Each parent is responsible for taking the child(ren) to all extracurricular and sporting activities which are scheduled during their parenting time.
Relationship to Child Support
Parenting time should continue whether or not support is being paid. Child support must be paid whether or not parenting time is occurring.
Parenting Time Abatement
It is the policy of the Friend of the Court to grant a 50% parenting time credit on the child support obligation of the non-custodial parent provided the period extends for a minimum of six consecutive overnights with his/her child(ren) unless the order or judgment specifies differently. Written verification will be requested of the custodial parent. If this credit is objected to, the Friend of the Court will schedule the matter for hearing before the court. If your order or judgment does not address the issue of parenting time abatement, you must file a motion to obtain a credit and modify the order or judgment. Effective October 1, 2008, pursuant to the Michigan child support formula, no credit will be given unless previously ordered. Any child support orders or modifications entered after October 1, 2008, will eliminate the abatement.
Consent Orders
All agreements by the natural parents of a child(ren) involving support, parenting time, removal of the minor child(ren) from the State of Michigan, and any other matter related to the child(ren) which is in the best interests of said child(ren), will be processed by the Friend of the Court upon request.
Processing Child and Spousal Support Payments
Several procedures have been established by the Macomb County Friend of the Court for the processing of child and spousal support payments. The more important are as follows:
(1) The Friend of the Court Office will no longer accept personal checks upon receipt. Checks will be accepted and processed by the MiSDU. The Friend of the Court Office will accept cash at the Cashier counter.
(2) The Friend of the Court/MiSDU collects and distributes support through the Michigan Child Support Enforcement System (MiCSES).
(a) MiCSES is designed according to federal regulations. The federal government requires all support charges (e.g., child support, child care, spousal support, etc.) to be calculated based on a monthly charge cycle.
(b) For cash, money orders, personal and out-of-state checks, the federal government requires current child support and spousal support for a given month to be paid first.
Any additional amount can be used to pay overdue support arrearages or other types of obligations (e.g., service fees).
(c) MiCSES does not allow for the automatic distribution of overpayments on an account.
If a payer’s monthly payment exceeds the amount due for a month, and there are no other obligations to apply the money to, the additional monies are placed in a suspense account.
Unreimbursed Health Care Expenses
The custodial parent or non-custodial parent must submit their request for proportionate reimbursement to the other party within 28 days of the insurers’ final payment or denial of coverage. If direct reimbursement is not received by the other party within 28 days after the demand, the request for payment of uninsured health care expenses may be submitted to the Friend of the Court, and only paid portions of an expense will be processed. The Friend of the Court will then establish a medical assessed account and pursue reimbursement for the custodial parent or non-custodial parent, first by correspondence and, if that is unsuccessful, by a show cause hearing.
It is the custodial parent or non-custodial parent’s duty to submit the reimbursement request to the Friend of the Court within one year from the date the expense was paid. Expenses more than one year old, from date of payment, will not be accepted by the Friend of the Court for enforcement.
Any questions relating to these policies and procedures may be directed to the Friend of the Court medical program specialist during regular business hours.