Family Support FAQ

A petition requesting an Order of Support must be filed in the Circuit Court. If both parties (and the Judge) agree on the amount, an order can be quickly entered. If the parties cannot agree, you can consult with a private lawyer, or contact the Family Independence Agency to talk to a Support Specialist for free help. (You do not have to be on public assistance to seek help from the Support Specialist.) The DHS can refer a support case to the Prosecuting Attorney, who can file an action in Circuit Court under the Family Support Act. Lansing Department of Human Services Office of Child Support Operations - Lansing P.O. Box 30750 Lansing, MI 48909-8250 (866) 540-0008 (toll free number) Detroit Department of Human Services Office of Child Support Operations - Southeast Box 02991 Detroit, MI 48202-2991 (866) 661-0005 (toll free number) Contact one of these locations to inquire about family support services (i.e., establishing paternity, family support orders, etc). DHS no longer has contact persons in their local county offices. Once the support order has been entered, if the parents get back together and decide to end the family support order, they must contact their private lawyer or the Friend of the Court to stop the support order. It is not sufficient to just notify a Department of Human Services case worker.

Family support is set by a formula in the Michigan Child Support Guidelines. This formula considers both parents' income, the number of children and their custodial arrangements. The baby's medical costs may also be included in the family support order.

No. The Friend of the Court is responsible for enforcing payment orders and collecting delinquencies (although you may also hire a private attorney to file an enforcement action).

The Friend of the Court is responsible for enforcing payment orders and collecting delinquencies (although you may also hire a private attorney to file an enforcement action). There are several options: income withholding orders, show cause hearings (civil contempt hearings held with the Judge who issued the support order), tax refund intercepts, and liens on the payor's property are the most common methods used. NOTE: Visitation and support orders are separate orders of the Court, with separate enforcement procedures. If you are not being paid the support monies to which you believe you are entitled, you may not withhold parenting time ("visitation") from the delinquent parent.

Yes! The Michigan Department of Human Services' web site has a good list of parent locator services.

The parent responsible for paying family support must continue to pay support through the Friend of the Court, even if he or she leaves the State of Michigan. If family support payments stop, the parent who is owed the money has several options:

1. Contact a private lawyer or the Family Independence Agency to request an action under the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA); a UIFSA order establishes a support order in the state where the non-custodial parent lives. Bring copies of all court orders involving the parents, plus the full name, date of birth, social security number, and last known address of the person who owes support money. The FIA will send a referral to the Prosecuting Attorney to start a UIFSA action. If the missing parent's whereabouts are unknown, the FIA or the Prosecuting Attorney may be able to help find him or her. Once the state in which the non-custodial parent lives enters its support order, authorities in that state are responsible for its enforcement. Each state has control within its own borders, and a support order established in the other state under UIFSA does not affect the amount owed under the Michigan order. A delinquent payor who returns to Michigan can be brought before a Michigan court for failure to pay under the Michigan order. Register the Michigan order in the other state where the paying parent lives. (The Friend of the Court or a private lawyer can help do this.) Once registered, it becomes an order of that state's court, and is enforced by that other state. [NOTE: In some states, registering the support order requires registering the custody and visitation orders, which will give the other state's court the power to change the terms of the support, custody or visitation orders, if asked.]
2. Request the Friend of the Court to arrange for the Michigan court to send an interstate income withholding order, if the name and address of the payer's source of income are known. The FOC can then begin an interstate income withholding action.

Check out the Michigan Department of Human Services' Child Support page, You will find answers to common support questions, plus information on and links to the Michigan Child Support Guidelines and Child Support Formula Manual.

Visit Michigan's Most Wanted Non-supporting Parents! Check out the Federal Administration for Children and Families, the Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement, the Mothers Against Fathers in Arrears, and the International Child Support web sites.