To change a Michigan child support order, you file Form FOC 50, Motion Regarding Support, with the circuit court that issued your original order. The Michigan FOC 50 motion to modify child support asks the court to recalculate the amount based on current income, custody, and expenses, and it only succeeds if the recalculated figure differs from the existing order by at least 10 percent or $50 per month, whichever is greater.1Michigan Courts. 2025 Michigan Child Support Formula Manual – Section 4.05 Everything else in the process flows from that threshold, so the preparation matters more than the paperwork.
Before You File: Does Your Situation Clear the Threshold?
Michigan law lets the court change a support order when the moving parent shows proper cause or a change in circumstances that makes the current order unfair.2Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 552.17 – Revision and Alteration of Judgment Concerning Care, Custody, Maintenance, and Support of Children The facts you point to must be new since the current order was signed. Typical triggers include job loss, a significant raise or pay cut, a shift in overnights between households, or a jump in health insurance premiums.
Changed circumstances alone are not enough. Run the numbers first. If the recalculated support comes within 10 percent (or $50) of what you’re already paying, the Friend of the Court will not take the motion to a judge. The state publishes the MiChildSupport Calculator at pcal.state.mi.us, which uses the same formula the Friend of the Court uses.3Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. MiChildSupport Calculator It needs both parents’ incomes, overnight counts, and health care and child care costs. Running it before you file tells you whether the motion is worth preparing.
One warning before you quit a job or cut hours and file: the court can impute income, meaning it bases support on what you could earn rather than what you actually earn. The formula weighs your work history, education, physical and mental health, local job availability, and whether you’ve been looking for work.4Michigan Courts. 2025 Michigan Child Support Formula Manual – Chapter 2 Determining Income Imputed income won’t exceed what you earned before the reduction and won’t assume more than a 40-hour week, but a voluntary cut followed by a reduction motion is where most of these filings collapse.
Gather Your Documents First
FOC 50 is short. The documentation behind it is not. Inconsistencies between what you write on the form and what your records show are the fastest way to stall the process.
From your original case, pull the judgment of divorce, separate maintenance, paternity, or family support order. You need the exact case number, the judicial circuit number, the plaintiff’s and defendant’s names as they appear on that judgment, the current monthly support amount, who pays, and any existing child care or health care obligations.
For income, gather recent pay stubs, W-2s, and tax returns showing gross earnings, plus documentation of mandatory deductions like union dues or required retirement contributions. Self-employed parents need profit-and-loss statements and business returns. Both parents’ incomes drive the calculation,5Michigan Courts. 2025 Michigan Child Support Formula Manual – Section 2.01 so expect the Friend of the Court to look at the other parent’s figures as well.
Whatever triggered the motion needs proof. A termination letter or unemployment benefits notice for job loss. Medical bills or insurance statements for health care changes. A new lease, school enrollment records, or a parenting-time log for a change in the child’s living situation. Vague claims do not survive the Friend of the Court’s review.
Filling Out Form FOC 50
Download Form FOC 50 from courts.michigan.gov under SCAO-approved forms, or pick up a paper copy at your Friend of the Court office. The form’s own instructions say Items A through K must be completed before you can file.6Michigan Courts. Form FOC 50 Instructions – Motion Regarding Support
Sections A and B: Caption and Parties
Copy the plaintiff’s and defendant’s names exactly as they appear on the original court order. Not nicknames. Not updated legal names unless a formal name change was entered in the case. Enter the case number from your existing judgment. If a third party is involved, such as a nonparent custodian, fill in that box too. Check the moving-party box next to your own name.
Sections C and D: Existing Support
Section C asks whether a support order already exists. If your judgment includes any support provisions, check box (a). If it says nothing about support, check box (b). Section D applies only if you checked box (a): list who was ordered to pay, how much, and what the order covers (base support, child care, health care). Take these figures from the most recent order, not from memory.
Section F: Changed Conditions
This is the heart of the motion. Check this box only if an order is already in place and conditions have changed. Describe the change with dates, dollar amounts, and specific events. “I lost my job on March 15, 2026 and now receive $1,200 per month in unemployment benefits” is far more useful than “my income went down.” The form allows additional sheets, and anything more than a minor change usually needs them.
Section G: Agreed Modifications
If you and the other parent have already agreed on a new amount, check this box and describe the agreement. An agreed modification still needs court approval but typically moves faster because the Friend of the Court doesn’t have to investigate competing claims.
Section H: Relief Requested
State exactly what you want the court to do. If you checked Section G, you can mark the box that says “Same as G above.” Otherwise, spell out the dollar amount you’re requesting, whether the change applies to base support, child care, or health care, and any other adjustments. Vague requests like “reduce my support” force the court to guess, which means delay.
Sections J, K, and L: Signature, Hearing, and Mailing
Sign and date in Section J. Section K stays blank until you have a hearing date. Contact the Friend of the Court office or the court clerk to schedule one, then fill in the judge or referee’s name, date, time, and location. Section L is the certificate of mailing. On the day you mail a copy to the other parent, record the date and sign it on your remaining copies.
If you cannot afford the filing fees, also complete Form MC 20 (Fee Waiver Request). The court waives fees if your household income is at or below 125 percent of the federal poverty guidelines, or if paying would create a genuine financial hardship even above that line.7Michigan Courts. Michigan Form MC 20 – Fee Waiver Request The other parent can respond with Form FOC 51 (Response to Motion Regarding Support), referenced on FOC 50 itself.8Michigan Courts. Motion Regarding Support – FOC 50
Filing Fees and Serving the Other Parent
File the completed form with the clerk of the circuit court where your original case was filed. The fee has two parts: a $20 motion fee plus a $40 fee specifically for post-judgment motions to modify child support, for $60 total.9Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 600.2529 – Fees Paid to Clerk of Circuit Court If the motion also addresses custody or parenting time, the second component is $80 instead of $40, and you pay one or the other, not both.
After filing, deliver copies of the motion and hearing notice to the other parent. Michigan Court Rule 2.105 allows two methods: personal delivery by someone other than you, or certified mail with return receipt requested and delivery restricted to the addressee.10Michigan Judicial Institute. Service of Process Table With certified mail, service is complete when the other parent signs for the delivery. Attach the signed return receipt to your proof of service and file it with the court. Without proof of service on file, the hearing won’t go forward.
What Happens After You File
The Friend of the Court office typically runs its own review of both parents’ finances, applies the Michigan Child Support Formula, and prepares a recommendation. The office then sends notice of the proposed amount to both parents.11Michigan Courts. Requesting a Change in Child Support If neither parent objects, the proposed amount replaces the old order.
If the office finds that no change is warranted, you have 21 days from the notice to file a written objection. Filing that objection forces a hearing in front of the court.12Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 552.517 – Friend of the Court Act At the hearing, bring every piece of documentation you gathered. The judge is not bound by the Friend of the Court’s recommendation but gives it significant weight. If a referee hears the case and recommends an order you disagree with, you can object using Form FOC 68 within 21 days of being served with that recommended order.13Michigan Courts. Form FOC 68 Instructions – Objection to Referee’s Recommended Order
When the New Amount Takes Effect
This part catches people off guard. Michigan law says a child support order is not subject to retroactive modification once a payment comes due, with one narrow exception: the court can make the new amount retroactive to the date the other parent received notice of your motion.14Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 552.603 – Support Order as Judgment Every month you wait to file is a month you cannot recover. If your income dropped in January but you don’t file until June, the old amount stands through the date service is complete.
Support that came due before you filed is locked in as a judgment and cannot be erased, even if a dramatic change like a layoff or disability happened during that gap. File as soon as the circumstances change. The one additional exception: if both parents agree, the court can approve a retroactive modification by consent.14Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 552.603 – Support Order as Judgment
Sign Honestly
FOC 50 is signed under penalty of perjury. Knowingly swearing to false information is a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison.15Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 750.423 – Perjury The child support statute adds its own consequence: if a parent knowingly misrepresents income, the court can retroactively correct the support amount, overriding the usual ban on retroactive modification.16Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 552.603b – Knowingly Misrepresenting Income Employers report new hires to the National Directory of New Hires, which child support agencies cross-check against claimed earnings.17Administration for Children and Families. New Hire Reporting Claiming you are unemployed while working leads to a corrected order and a perjury referral.