Child Support
A "support order" is any court order that requires a parent or ex-spouse to pay:
- Child Support
- Spousal Support
- Medical, dental, and other health care expenses
- Confinement expenses (the mother's childbirth costs and medical bills)
- Child care expenses
- Educational expenses
All child support orders state a specific amount of money that is due for the support of each minor child. When a child support order is entered, the Court will order that the payments be automatically deducted from the non-custodial parent's paycheck. The employer sends payments to the Michigan State Disbursement Unit (MiSDU). Support is charged the first day of the month and is considered past due if not paid by the last day of the month. When an order takes effect on a day other than the first day of a month (or ends on a day other than the last day of the month), the support amount must be prorated for the partial month. When an arrearage is equal to or greater than one month of support, the FOC must initiate enforcement proceedings.
Party's Motion to Modify Support
A party may file a "Motion to Change the Support Order" and "Uniform Child Support Order." Forms and instructions for filing are provided on this website or can be picked up at the office. Once the motion has been completed correctly and received by the FOC office, and all required filing fees are paid, a hearing date will be scheduled and the parties notified.
You do not need an attorney to file this type of motion; however, if you have retained an attorney (for any reason) you CANNOT file this motion on your own. You MUST contact your attorney and have him/her do the filing.
At the hearing the FOC will determine whether there has been a change since the last child support order. Child support must be set according to the Michigan Child Support guidelines. If the difference between the current support amount and the suggested guideline amount is less than the minimum threshold (10% or $25), the FOC is not required to change the support order.
Modification of Child Support Order
The FOC may review child support orders automatically every 36 months if the child or one of the parents is receiving public assistance. In other cases, the FOC will conduct a review upon written request by a party, but not more often than every 36 months. Simply notifying the FOC that one parent's financial situation has changed will not automatically change the ordered support amount.