The Friend of the Court in Michigan is an office within each judicial circuit that handles the child-related parts of family cases: custody and parenting time disputes, child support calculations, payment tracking, and enforcement of court orders. It is not a judge and does not issue final rulings, but its investigations and written recommendations carry real weight because judges rely on them when deciding family matters. The office was created under the Friend of the Court Act, and every circuit in the state has one.1Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 552.503 – Office of the Friend of the Court; Creation in Judicial Circuit
The office’s stated purposes are to protect the best interests of children, help parents settle disagreements voluntarily, and enforce both support and parenting time orders.2Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 552.501 – Short Title; Purposes and Construction of Act In practice, that means almost every divorce, paternity, or custody case involving minor children in Michigan passes through this office at some point.
What the Office Actually Does in Your Case
The Friend of the Court investigates custody and parenting time disputes, recommends child support amounts using the statewide formula, mediates between parents, tracks payments, reviews orders periodically, and enforces orders when a parent falls out of compliance.
Many circuits require parents to attempt alternative dispute resolution through the office before a contested hearing is scheduled. A Friend of the Court worker meets with both parents and helps them try to reach their own agreement.3Michigan Legal Help. Friend of the Court Overview Agreements parents build themselves tend to hold up better than terms imposed after a trial.
Michigan recognizes two independent types of custody. Legal custody covers major decisions about schooling, religion, and significant medical care. Physical custody is where the child lives. Either can be sole or joint, and joint physical custody does not require a 50/50 split.4Michigan Legal Help. Custody and Parenting Time
How Investigations and Recommendations Work
When parents cannot agree, the office opens an investigation. That typically involves interviews with both parents and sometimes home visits. For custody disputes, investigators apply the twelve “best interests of the child” factors in MCL 722.23, which cover the emotional bond with each parent, each parent’s ability to provide food, clothing, and medical care, the stability of the current home, the child’s ties to school and community, and each parent’s moral fitness and mental health.5Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 722.23 – Best Interests of the Child Defined
Two factors often drive outcomes: each parent’s willingness to support the child’s relationship with the other parent, and any history of domestic violence. A parent who took reasonable steps to protect the child from abuse by the other parent cannot have that held against them.5Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 722.23 – Best Interests of the Child Defined The twelfth factor is a catch-all for anything else relevant to the family.
At the end of the investigation, the office issues a written recommendation to the judge. The recommendation is not yet a court order. It becomes one if neither parent objects within the statutory window.
The 21-Day Deadline to Object
If you disagree with a Friend of the Court recommendation, you have 21 days from the date it was mailed to file a written objection.6Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 552.507 – De Novo Hearing Miss that window and the recommendation can be entered as a binding order.
A timely objection triggers a hearing before a referee. If you are dissatisfied with the referee’s decision, you can request a de novo hearing before the circuit court judge within another 21 days. The de novo hearing is a fresh look: the judge can decide based on the referee hearing record, new evidence, or both.6Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 552.507 – De Novo Hearing While that hearing is pending, the referee’s recommendation can be entered as an interim order that takes effect temporarily until the judge issues a final ruling.
How Child Support Is Calculated and Paid
Support amounts come from the Michigan Child Support Formula, which the State Friend of the Court Bureau maintains. The formula weighs each parent’s income, overnights with the child, health insurance costs for the child, and child care expenses. The 2025 Michigan Child Support Formula Manual, effective January 1, 2025, eliminated the previous 10/90 percent minimum and maximum caps on expense apportionment and now uses each parent’s actual share of income.7Michigan Courts. 2025 Michigan Child Support Formula Manual
Orders also include an ordinary medical expense component, a monthly reimbursement to the custodial parent for routine health costs like co-pays and over-the-counter medications. Uninsured medical costs above that annual threshold are split by income share.
All payments must go through the Michigan State Disbursement Unit (MiSDU). Paying the other parent directly creates no official record and will not be credited against your obligation. You can pay by credit card at MiSDU.com, by phone at 1-877-543-2660, by check mailed to Michigan State Disbursement Unit, P.O. Box 30351, Lansing, Michigan 48909-7851, or in cash through PayNearMe and MoneyGram at participating retailers.8State of Michigan. Make a Payment Always include your case number on mailed payments.
The MiChildSupport portal and mobile app let both payers and recipients view case details, see payment history, check income withholding status, and contact a caseworker.9MiChildSupport. MiChildSupport The office also charges the support payer an annual service fee, assessed in semiannual increments on January 1 and July 1; if you pay by income withholding, a small monthly amount is added to cover it.
Starting a New Case
Opening a case requires the Verified Statement (Form FOC 23), which collects names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, addresses, and employment details for both parents and the children. If you want enforcement services, you also complete the Application for Title IV-D Child Support Services (Form DHS-1201D), which connects your case to federal tools like tax refund interception and interstate collection.10Michigan Courts. Verified Statement Bring recent pay stubs, your most recent federal tax return, and documentation of health insurance costs for the children. Inaccurate income information produces a support figure that does not match your real finances, and fixing it later requires filing a formal motion.
Filing fees apply, but parents who cannot afford them can request a waiver using the Affidavit and Order for Suspension of Fees (Form MC 20).
Enforcement Tools the Office Can Use
The Support and Parenting Time Enforcement Act gives the office a broad set of tools to compel compliance.11Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 552.601 – Short Title The path escalates as noncompliance continues.
When Support Goes Unpaid
The usual first step is income withholding, where support is pulled from wages or unemployment benefits before the payer sees the money. The office can also intercept state and federal tax refunds. Once a payer is more than two months behind, the office can request suspension of the payer’s driver’s license, occupational license, or recreational license.12Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 552.628 Arrears can be reported to credit bureaus.
If a failure to pay is found to be willful, the court can add a surcharge to the past-due balance. The surcharge is set semiannually at 1% plus the average auction rate of five-year U.S. Treasury notes during the preceding six months. It does not compound, and a payer who has paid at least 90% of the most recent semiannual obligation is exempt for that cycle.13Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 552.603a
When other tools fail, the office can petition for a show cause hearing. Under Michigan’s general contempt statute, penalties can reach 93 days in jail, a fine of up to $7,500, or both.14Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 600.1715 A parent jailed for failing to pay can be released by making the payment or showing they no longer have the ability to pay.
When Parenting Time Is Denied
Parenting time violations have their own track. If a parent denies court-ordered parenting time without good cause, the court can order makeup parenting time, impose a fine of up to $100, suspend licenses, or jail the violating parent for up to 45 days on a first contempt finding and up to 90 days for each later one.15Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 552.644 The court can also modify the parenting time order if doing so serves the child’s best interests. Before contempt, the office must first try to resolve the dispute through other means, such as a joint meeting with both parents.
Changing an Existing Order
To modify custody, you must show “proper cause” or a “change in circumstances” significant enough to justify revisiting the earlier decision. A child aging, short-term financial trouble, or a child saying they want to switch homes do not clear that bar. A parent developing a substance abuse problem, becoming routinely absent, or evidence of abuse or neglect can.16Michigan Legal Help. Changing a Custody Order
Parenting time modifications use a somewhat lower standard. You still need proper cause or changed circumstances, or you can show that the current order is no longer in the child’s best interests. If both parents agree, they can submit a stipulated order. If not, the parent requesting the change files a motion (Form FOC 65) along with a Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Enforcement Act affidavit, pays the filing fee, and serves the other parent. The office does not handle emergency motions for parenting time changes.
Child support is reviewed periodically, and either parent can request a review when circumstances change substantially. If the current formula produces a significantly different amount, the office issues a recommendation for a new figure, which follows the same 21-day objection process as any other recommendation.
Opting Out of the Office’s Services
Parents can opt out of most Friend of the Court services by filing a written agreement. The trade-off is substantial. Opting out means losing income withholding management, payment accounting, support enforcement (including tax intercepts and license suspensions), periodic support reviews, custody and parenting time investigations, and mediation.17Michigan Courts. Advice of Rights Regarding Use of Friend of the Court Services
You also lose access to most Title IV-D services, the federally funded programs for child support collection. You can still send payments through MiSDU to maintain a basic record, but MiSDU cannot replicate the office’s full accounting and enforcement functions. If the other parent later stops paying or denies parenting time, you would need to hire an attorney and file your own motions. Opting out works best when both parents cooperate and have roughly equal bargaining power. Where there is imbalance, giving up enforcement tools tends to hurt the less powerful parent.
Filing a Grievance Against the Office
If you believe the office mishandled your case or failed to follow procedures, Michigan has a two-step grievance process. First, submit a written grievance to the local office, either on the official form or in a letter clearly labeled “grievance.” The office director or a designee must respond within 30 days or explain why more time is needed.18Michigan Courts. Friend of the Court Grievance Process
If the response does not satisfy you, send the original grievance along with the office’s response to the chief judge of your circuit court. The chief judge also has 30 days to respond.18Michigan Courts. Friend of the Court Grievance Process A grievance addresses office operations, procedures, and employee conduct. It cannot challenge a judge’s ruling, a referee’s recommendation, or the outcome of a hearing. For those, you need to file an objection or appeal.