| Friend
of the Court Information |
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|
| Support
Enforcement |
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Each
support case is assigned to a team in the Friend of the
Court office consisting of an enforcement caseworker and
an enforcement clerk. The telephone directory on this
site shows how cases are assigned. You may contact the
team members assigned to your case by mail, e-mail, telephone,
or voice mail. Because of the number of cases and cost,
we do not return telephone calls, but we will try to promptly
respond to other contacts. You can send us e-mail through
this web site.
Support enforcement is controlled by Michigan statute.
These are the remedies available to us: |
| |
 Income
Withholding Order: |
| An
order directed to the payer's employer to withhold child
support from a payroll check. Money withheld by the employer
must be sent within 3 days of the payroll. The money is
sent first to the State Disbursement Unit (SDU), who disburses
it to the payee. |
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|
Data
Warehouse: |
| An
electronic data base available to the FOC. All employers
nationwide are required to report newly hired employees
to this data base with 21 days of the hire date. Income
withholding orders are automatically issued by the FOC
as new hires are reported. |
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Seven
Day Notice: |
| A
notice sent to a payer to report new employment to FOC
within 7 days. This is sent whenever the FOC is notified
by an employer that employment has been terminated. |
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Income
Tax Refund Offset: |
| The
tax refund of a payer will automatically be intercepted
by the State of Michigan when arrearages exceed $500 for
federal taxes and $150 for state taxes. By law, any intercepted
money goes first to repay the State for any welfare certified
arrearages. |
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Order
to Show Cause (OSC): |
| A
court order requiring the payer to appear at the FOC office
to explain nonpayment. This order may be issued if 2 months
of arrearages exist and the payer has not otherwise explained
the lack of payment. |
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Probation
Order: |
| A
court order requiring payment in a set amount and providing
for sanctions upon noncompliance. |
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Bench
Warrant: |
| A
Judge's order for the arrest of the payer. It may be issued
for failure to appear for an OSC or for violation of a
probation order. |
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Interstate
Enforcement: |
| A
request to or from another state for support enforcement
under the Uniform Interstate Enforcement of Support Act
(UIFSA). There is a separate page on this web site explaining
interstate enforcement. |
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License
Suspension: |
| If
support arrearages exceed two months of support, the FOC
can request the court to suspend the driver's, occupational,
or hunting license of the payer. |
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|
Bank
Account Lien: |
| This
program is now run by the State of Michigan and allows
the state to attach bank accounts belonging to the payer
upon arrearages exceeding two months of support. If money
is taken from an account, it is sent to SDU for distribution.
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| Links |
|
| Office of Child Support Public Website |
| Michigan
State Disbursement Unit (SDU) |
| Federal
Office of Child Support |
| MI
Child (Insurance) |
|
Michigan Child Support Formula Manual |
