If the other parent or the Friend of the Court has filed a motion to change your child support order, the FOC 51 Michigan child support response form is what you use to reply. It’s a one-page SCAO-approved form available free from the Michigan Courts website and any local Friend of the Court office. You fill it in, sign it, file the original with the circuit court clerk, and mail a copy to the other parent. Do nothing and the court can modify your support without hearing from you.
Before anything else, make sure FOC 51 is actually the form you need. It’s easy to confuse with DHS-842, an administrative intake form the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services uses when opening or managing a IV-D child support case.1Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. DHS-842 – Child Support Response Form DHS-842 is not a court filing and does nothing to answer a motion. If a judge is being asked to change your support, FOC 51 is the form.2Michigan Courts. FOC 51 – Response to Motion Regarding Support
What to Gather Before You Fill It Out
Pull these together first so you’re not stopping mid-form to hunt for numbers:
- The motion itself. Read every paragraph. Your response answers each specific claim, so you need to know exactly what the other parent is alleging.
- Case header details: case number, assigned judge, and county. Copy them exactly from the motion.
- Party designations. The motion identifies one parent as Plaintiff and the other as Defendant based on who originally filed the case. Use the same labels on your response, regardless of who filed the current motion.
- Recent income records: two to three recent pay stubs, your most recent federal tax return, and any W-2 or 1099 forms.
- Childcare and health insurance costs. The Michigan Child Support Formula uses weekly daycare or after-school care costs and the monthly premium you pay to cover the children. Get exact figures from the provider.3Michigan Courts. Michigan Child Support Formula
Filling Out FOC 51
The layout is straightforward. At the top, fill in the court name, county, case number, judge, plaintiff, and defendant to match the motion’s header.
The body of the form is a series of agree-or-disagree statements about whether conditions regarding support have changed as described in the motion.2Michigan Courts. FOC 51 – Response to Motion Regarding Support For each claim, check “I agree” or “I do not agree.” Where you disagree, the form gives you space to explain. This is the part that matters. A checked box with no explanation gives the court nothing to work with.
Keep explanations short and factual. Write about income, work schedules, childcare, and medical costs. “My gross income decreased from $52,000 to $41,000 after my employer cut overtime” is far more useful than a paragraph about the other parent’s choices. Numbers and dates.
Sign and date at the bottom. The form contains a declaration that the information is true, so treat every entry the way you’d treat a statement made under penalty of perjury.
When You Have to File It By
Under Michigan Court Rule 2.119, a response to a motion must be filed at least three days before the scheduled hearing, unless the court sets a different deadline.4Michigan Courts. Chapter 4 – Pretrial Procedures The motion should include the hearing date. That’s your clock.
Three days is the floor, not the target. File as soon as the form is complete. If you can’t meet the deadline, call the clerk’s office and ask whether the judge will accept a late filing; some will if you can show good cause.
Filing the Original and Serving the Other Parent
The original goes to the clerk of the circuit court in the county where your case is pending. Make at least five copies before filing: one for the court, one for the Friend of the Court, one for the other parent or their attorney, and two for yourself.
Many Michigan counties accept electronic filing through MiFILE.5Michigan Courts. MiFILE Not every court has adopted it for family division filings, so confirm with your clerk which methods are accepted and whether a filing fee applies. Fees vary by county.
After filing, serve a copy on the other parent or their attorney by first-class mail to their last known address. Then complete form MC 302, Proof of Mailing, certifying the date, the document mailed, and the recipient’s name and address.6Michigan Courts. MC 302 – Proof of Mailing File the completed MC 302 with the court. Without proof of service, the court has no record that the other side was notified, and your response may be disregarded.
What Happens After You File
Filing triggers a Friend of the Court review. Under MCL 552.505, the Friend of the Court investigates the financial information both parents submitted and prepares a written report with a recommended support amount based on the Michigan Child Support Formula.7Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 552.505 The formula weighs each parent’s income, the number of overnights each parent has, childcare, and health insurance costs.3Michigan Courts. Michigan Child Support Formula
Either parent can request a meeting with the Friend of the Court investigator before the recommendation is finalized.7Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 552.505 Ask for one. It’s your chance to walk through your income documentation and explain expenses that aren’t obvious from the paperwork. The investigator may also request additional records, such as employer-verified income statements or documentation of special medical costs for the children.
In many counties, the case then goes to a referee rather than directly to a judge. The referee holds a hearing, considers the Friend of the Court’s recommendation and both parents’ arguments, and issues a recommended order. That recommended order is not final.
Objecting to a Referee’s Recommendation
If the referee’s recommended order doesn’t reflect what you believe the evidence shows, file FOC 68, Objection to Referee’s Recommended Order, to request a de novo review by the circuit court judge.8Michigan Courts. FOC 68 – Objection to Referee’s Recommended Order De novo means the judge looks at the issue fresh, not just at whether the referee made an obvious error. State your specific reasons on the form and serve a copy on the other parent by first-class mail.
The court schedules a hearing before the judge, where both sides can present evidence and testimony. The judge’s order after that hearing is the final, binding support obligation. If neither parent objects within the time allowed, the referee’s recommendation becomes the court’s order automatically.
If You No Longer Live in Michigan
Michigan may not have jurisdiction to modify the order at all if neither parent nor the child still lives here. Under the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, the state that issued a child support order keeps exclusive jurisdiction to modify it as long as the child or at least one parent still resides there. If everyone has moved away, or if both parents file written consent, a court in another state can take over jurisdiction and modify the order going forward. The original state keeps authority to enforce any arrears that accrued before the transfer.9Administration for Children and Families. IM-95-03A Full Faith and Credit for Child Support Orders Act Before spending time on FOC 51, confirm the motion was filed in a court that actually has jurisdiction over the modification.