1. family and parenting

Welcome to the FOC!
This packet is meant to provide you with some “nuts and bolts” information as to the Macomb
County Friend of the Court. You are receiving this information because you are a party on a case
where there is a domestic support obligation, which means someone has been ordered to pay
child support, medical support, child care, confinement, spousal support, or some other type of
support payment pursuant to a court order.
HELPFUL RESOURCES
A BIT ABOUT THE PROCESS –
Macomb County Friend of the
Court (MCFOC) website:
foc.macombgov.org
WHAT HAPPENS TO AN ORDER AFTER
THE JUDGE SIGNS IT?
Michigan State Disbursement
website: MISDU.com
All eighty-three (83) counties in the State of Michigan are required by the Federal Government
to use the MICSES computer system to record and monitor domestic relations cases with support obligations. This means that once a court order is signed which creates or changes a support obligation that order must be loaded onto the MICSES computer system. Once the order is
loaded if needed an income withholding order will be generated notifying the payer’s employer
to deduct support payments from the payer’s check. When a case is new payments can not be
processed until the case is loaded onto MICSES. What this means to you as the payer or recipient of support is that there is typically a delay of approximately two to four weeks from the time
an order is signed by the Judge to the time it is loaded onto the MICSES system.
You should have copies of all of your court orders and be familiar with them. In the event of a
dispute the Court is going to enforce the terms of the court orders. In domestic cases provisions
regarding custody, parenting time, and child support remain modifiable until the minor children reach the age of eighteen or graduate from high school, whichever is later.
Friend of the Court Handbook –
available on MCFOC website:
foc.macombgov.org
Michigan Child Support Formula – link provided on MCFOC
website: foc.macombgov.org
Motion Packets – available from
MCFOC or downloadable from
MCFOC website
Michigan Legal Help website –
www.michiganlegalhelp.org
HOW DO I OBTAIN INFORMATION ABOUT MY CASE
There are a variety of ways you can obtain
information about your file. It is recommended that you register to be able to
view some of your account information
online. You can register for this access by
going to the website MISDU.com and
scrolling to the section titled MICASE or
you can go directly to the website
www.michigan.gov/micase.
You can also obtain information by calling
the 24 Hour Interactive Voice Response
System (IVR) @ 586-469-7618. You may
also call the Macomb County Friend of the
Court @ 586-469-5160. You may wish to
request the telephone number of the Child
Support Judicial Service Officer assigned
to your file which will save you from having to go through the switchboard operator each time you call.
Be sure to let us know when you experience any change in employment
CHANGES TO WHERE
THE CHILD IS LIVING
If you are a parent or guardian
you must notify the Macomb
County Friend of the Court as
soon as possible if the minor
child/children stop living with
you and notify the Macomb
County Friend of the Court of
who the minor child/children are
living with, the name and address of who the minor child/
children are living with and when
the change occurred.
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EMPLOYMENT
How do you earn a living/your employment/changes in employment
status – You must notify the Macomb County Friend of the Court of changes
in your source of income or employment status. If you change employers you
need to provide the name, address, phone number, and if you have it the Federal Employer Id Number (FEIN) of your new employer and your start date. If
you are the payor of support you must also mail in payments on your own until
your new employer starts deducting payments from your check. You must also
notify the Macomb County Friend of the Court if you become unemployed, are
laid off, or are not working due to a medical issue in which case you might be
receiving worker’s compensation benefits or short-term or long-term disability
benefits, or no benefits at all. If you retire and will be receiving social security
benefits or a pension you need to notify the Macomb County Friend of the
Court. If you get approved for social security disability benefits or SSI benefits
you need to notify the Macomb County Friend of the Court. Unless you live out
of state or are physically unable to come to the Macomb County Friend of the
Court you should report in person. If you live out of state or are physically unable to come in you should call and find out what information you need to submit.
WE CAN HELP...
Extraordinary events: You
should notify the Macomb County
Friend of the Court if either parent
becomes incarcerated, children
are removed by Child Protective
Services, death of either party,
parties who are not married to one
another get married to one another, parties who are divorced get remarried, child is adopted by stepparent, or any other extraordinary
event.
Knowledge is Power!
COMMUNICATING WITH THE MACOMB COUNTY FRIEND
OF THE COURT
As a party on the file you are court ordered to provide certain information to the
Macomb County Friend of the Court. There are also times when you may have a
question or wish to obtain information about your case. There are several ways
you can communicate with or obtain information from the Macomb County
Friend of the Court.
In Person – the Macomb County Friend of the Court is located in the 16 th Circuit Court
Building which is at 40 North Main Street, Mount Clemens, Michigan 48043. The Macomb
County Friend of the Court is housed on the 6th floor. The Macomb County Friend of the
Court is open Monday –Friday from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. As a party to a file you can
come in anytime the office is open and ask to speak to a Friend of the Court employee about
your file.
By Telephone – you may also call and speak with a Friend of the Court employee about
your file during office hours - telephone coverage is provided Monday – Friday from 8:00
a.m. to noon and then from noon to 5:00 p.m.- please be advised there is very limited phone
coverage during the lunch hour from noon to 1:00 p.m.
By Facsimile(FAX) – you may also submit information to the Macomb County Friend of
the Court via our fax # 586-469-7941. Please sure to include your case number and provide a current phone number and address for yourself on all communications.
By E-mail – you may also submit information or provide information to the Macomb County Friend of the Court by sending an email to our general email address: MacombCountyFriendoftheCourt@macombgov.org. Please be sure to include your case number and
provide a current address and telephone number for yourself on all communications. If you
have a scanner you can scan documents and submit them as an email attachment.
By U.S. Mail – you may also submit or request information via letter. The address for the
Macomb County Friend of the Court is: Macomb County Friend of the Court, 40 North Main
Street, Mount Clemens, Michigan 48043. Please be sure to always include your current address and telephone number and your case number on any written correspondence.
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KEEP US UPDATED
How you can be reached/your
address and telephone number – You must notify the Macomb County Friend of the Court
of any changes in your address
and telephone number. Keeping
your address information current
will keep you from missing important notices from the Macomb
County Friend of the Court – such
as notice of court dates. Please be
advised that notifying the U.S.
Post Office of a change of address
does not change your address with
the Macomb County Friend of the
Court. You must send a separate
notice of your change of address
and/or telephone number directly
to the Macomb County Friend of
the Court.
HEALTH INSURANCE
You must keep the Macomb
County Friend of the Court
updated as to the medical insurance for the minor child/
children. If you lose health insurance coverage due to loss of
employment you need to notify
the Macomb County Friend of
the Court and the other parent.
If the health insurance provider
for the minor child/children will
be changing you need to notify
the Macomb County Friend of
the Court of when the change
will occur and the new insurance provider and proof of coverage for the minor children. If
the minor child/children will be
covered via Medicaid of
MIChild (both of which are state
funded in part) instead of a
private insurance carrier you
need to provide proof of coverage.
Healthy kids are happy kids!
UNINSURED HEALTH CARE EXPENSES
Uninsured health care expenses include: insurance co-payments, deductibles and other uninsured health care costs. Orthodontic treatment is included in the definition of health care and will be treated as an uninsured health
care expense. The base support already covers remedial care items, such as
band aids and non-prescription medications, so those expenses are not included in this category.
For the custodial party, any health care expenses incurred after the annual
ordinary medical amount has been met are called extraordinary health care
expenses. For the non-custodial party, any health care expenses incurred on
behalf of the minor child/ren are considered extraordinary health care expenses. The court order will indicate the percentage each party must pay for
the extraordinary uninsured health care expenses.
KEEPING YOUR CHILDREN COVERED
The Friend of the Court has enforcement procedures available to require one
or both parties to obtain health care insurance for the minor child/ren if
ordered by the Court. Assistance is also available in obtaining information
about current insurance coverage.
Questions and concerns can be directed to the Friend of the Court Medical
Department at (586) 469-5679 or (586) 469-5646.
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WHAT WE CAN NOT DO
Please be advised that all Friend of the Court staff are prohibited from providing legal advice so at times if you ask a legal
question you may be advised to consult with a private attorney or legal aid as to your options. Friend of the Court staff
are also prohibited from helping you fill out motion packets,
file objections, or assist you in preparing other legal documents.
Please be advised that all Friend of the Court staff are prohibited from providing legal advice...
WHO ARE THE PEOPLE AT THE FRIEND OF THE COURT I
MIGHT SPEAK TO BY TELEPHONE OR IN PERSON
In person: Each file has a number of
assigned Friend of the Court personnel.
Each file has a Parenting Time Judicial
Service Officer, a Child Support Judicial
Service Officer, and a Medical Enforcement Officer assigned – these are the
three people you are most likely to speak
with in person after you have been
checked in by reception. When you come
in person to the Friend of the Court you
will be checked in by a receptionist who
will ask you for your case number and who
will ask you for your current address and
telephone number. If your contact information or employment information has
changed you will be provided with a form
to fill out and sign so your information can
be updated. The receptionist will ask you
why you have come in and will then notify
the Judicial Service Officer or Medical
Enforcement Officer that someone is here
and they will come and speak to you at the
counter where they have access to the
MICSES computer system which contains
your file information.
Please be advised that due to confidentiality you can not have any
friends, family members, or significant others accompany you to the
counter as the information of the
file is confidential to you and the
other party. If somebody comes to
the counter with you they will be
asked to take a seat in the lobby or
may be asked to leave the floor to
ensure privacy.
On the phone: You will first speak to
either a switchboard operator who will
transfer you to the department you need
to speak to or you will speak with a secretary. The secretaries are very knowledgeable and can answer most questions, if the
secretary is unable to provide you with an
answer you may be transferred to another
department, or you may be advised to
come in and speak to a Judicial Service
Officer or Medical Enforcement Officer in
person, or you may be advised to submit
your inquiry in writing via email, fax, or
letter. If you are seeking to change an
existing court order you may be advised
that you will need to file a motion with the
Court on your own or with the assistance
of a private attorney.
Please be advised that all Friend of
the Court staff are prohibited from
providing legal advice so at times if
you ask a legal question you may be
advised to consult with a private
attorney or legal aid as to your options. Friend of the Court staff are
also prohibited from helping you fill
out motion packets, file objections,
or assist you in preparing other legal documents.
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Basically you need to make
sure to keep your contact
information, your employer
information, and insurance
provider information for the
minor children updated on
your file – you are actually
court ordered to notify the
Macomb County Friend of the
Court in writing if any of
these three things change.
You also need to notify the
Friend of the Court if the
minor children change custodians and are living with
someone other than who the
court orders indicate they are
living with. You should also
notify the Friend of the Court
of extraordinary events.
PAYMENTS—MAKING AND RECEIVING
All child support payments are centrally disbursed out of Lansing, Michigan from the
Michigan State Disbursement Unit (MISDU). Payments flow in to MISDU and then MISDU sends out payments to the support recipients.
I am the recipient of support payments – what do I need to do to get things started?
As the recipient of support you will either receive payments via direct deposit or on a debit card. Only
in very limited circumstances are paper checks issued. You may receive your first payment via a paper
check and then you need to elect by which of the other two methods you want to receive the support
payments. The forms you need to submit are available from the Macomb County Friend of the Court,
from the website for the Macomb County Friend of the Court which is FOC.macombgov.org, and from
the MISDU website which is MISDU.com.
I am the payer of support – what options do I have for remitting payments?
As the payer of support your court order requires you to remit payments yourself directly to the Friend
of the Court unless or until your employer deducts support payments. If you are a 1099 employee or
self-employed you will need to remit payments yourself. You may remit payments by making payments in person at the cashier window located at the Macomb County Friend of the Court, you may
also make payments online through the website for MISDU which is MISDU.com, or you can mail in
payments directly to MISDU to: MISDU, P.O. Box 30351, Lansing, Michigan 48909-7851 – please be
sure to include your case number, your name, and the county code for Macomb which is FIPS 26099
on your check or money order. Your employer will also be sent an income withholding order, which is
a court order directing an employer or source of income to deduct child support payments and send
them to MISDU, MISDU will then forward the payments to the support recipient.
Peace can not be kept by force: It can
only be achieved by understanding.
Albert Einstein
40 NORTH MAIN ST
MOUNT CLEMENS, MI 48043
Phone: 586-469-5160
Fax: 586-469-7941
E-mail:
FriendoftheCourt@macobgov.org
My Friend of the Court Case # ___________________________
My Parenting Time Enforcement Officer _____________________
Email Address ___FriendoftheCourt@macombgov.org___________
My Child Support Enforcement Officer_______________________
Phone Number _______________________________________
My Medical Enforcement Officer___________________________
Phone Number_______________________________________