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Michigan Child Support Laws

Michigan Child Support is your one stop shop to help you with your child support needs. They have the staff that will get the job done.

Established in 1975 the IV-D programs are here to help the child gain the child support that he or she deserves. Child Support exists to raise the standard of living for children by enforcing their right to receive financial support from both of their parents. The child support program assists families with collecting much needed child support from parents who are not in the home.

How to Apply for Michigan Child Support Services

Michigan Child support services are automatically provided to individuals who are receiving or have received The Family Independence Program benefits and/or Medical Assistance. Your Family Independence Program caseworker will refer you to the Department of Human Services' child support specialist. If you are not receiving The Family Independence Program or Medical Assistance, you can apply for child support services as follows:

• If you already have a court order for support and wish to apply for child support services, contact your local Friend of the Court.
• If you do not yet have a court order for support, you can apply by filling out an application

Establish Paternity Information

By including the father on the birth certificate gives a child born outside of marriage legal rights to benefits such as child support, Social Security benefits, veteran's benefits, and inheritance rights. Children can also benefit by knowing the family's biological, cultural, and medical history. When an unmarried woman has a child, a legal act is needed to establish the legal father of the child. Paternity must be established before the court can order child support. When a married couple has a child, the law automatically recognizes the husband as the child's legal father.

If a child is born to an unmarried mother, she and the alleged father can sign an Affidavit of Parentage form to legally establish the father's legal right’s. The mother and the alleged father can also ask the court to determine the legal father of the child. A parent may want proof that he’s the biological father of the child before he is named the legal father. In that case, either parent may request genetic testing. Genetic testing will show if the man is the father or not the father.

Income Withholding Orders Information

Michigan child support's computer system will automatically generate an income withholding order when a new employer is identified through new hire reporting. The FOC can also manually initiate an income withholding order. If a case does not have an income withholding order already in place and one month of arrearages has accrued on the case, an obligor is sent a notice that income will be withheld in 21 days due to the support arrearage. An obligor can request a hearing within 21 days the withholding will occur. The amount withheld for an income withholding order cannot exceed the amount allowed under the Consumer Credit Protection Act.

This can be as high as 65% if certain arrearage and number of children criteria are met, generally it is 50% for support collection. Approximately 74% of Michigan Child Support is collected through income withholding orders.

Types of Michigan Child Support Enforcement:

Monetary Support - These are orders for child support, spousal support, education support, or child care support.

Medical Support - These are orders for provision of medical care for dependent children.

Custody/Parenting Time - These are orders that determine custody and parenting time.

Federal Title IV-D Child Support Program

Federal law outlines the requirements that Michigan child support program must meet in order to receive federal funds for their child support program. Michigan received over $168 million in federal dollars for the child support program in fiscal year 2005. Federal Title IV-D dollars can only be spent on Title IV-D services. Title IV-D services include all child support services provided in Michigan with the exception of custody and parenting time. Those services are paid for with State and local dollars. A case qualifies for Title IV-D services when children are receiving public assistance or a custodial party or non-custodial parent has requested Title IV-D services. Over 96 percent of support cases in Michigan are Title IV-D cases. As the Title IV-D administrator for the State, the Office of Child Support must ensure that all Title IV-D services comply with the federal regulations related to those services.

Health Care Coverage Information

Michigan Child Support has many health care programs available to children, families, and adults who meet certain eligibility requirements. The goal of these health care programs is to ensure that essential health care services are made available to those who otherwise would not have the financial resources to purchase them. All of the health care programs in Michigan have income limits and some programs also have an asset limit. These income and asset limits vary with each program. If you need help with past, unpaid medical expenses, your coverage may begin three months before your application month.

Ask about retroactive medical coverage. Once you have been determined eligible for Medicaid you will receive a mihealth card. Each member of the family receives their own card. Do not throw this card away. Most people who receive Medicaid must join a health plan. You will need to show your mihealth card and your health plan card when you receive medical services.

Annual $25 Federal Fee Information

Beginning September 2008, federal law requires that certain child support cases will pay a $25 yearly fee. Michigan child support law requires that this fee be withheld from payments made to the custodial parent after he or she has received at least $500 in child support on a case between October 1st and September 30th (the federal fiscal year). Custodial parties who currently receive or have received The Family Independence Program in Michigan do not have to pay the fee. Custodial parties who currently receive food assistance program benefits for a child in the support order are also exempt from paying the fee too.

Important Terms:

Income Withholding

Child support information on withholding from an obligor's income for the purposes of paying a support obligation. "Income" means: any form of monetary payment, including personal earnings; workers' compensation payments; unemployment compensation benefits; pensions; annuities; allowances; private or governmental retirement benefits; disability or sick pay; insurance proceeds; lottery prize awards; federal, state or local government benefits to the extent that the benefits can be withheld or deducted under the law governing the benefits; any form of trust fund or endowment; lump-sum payments; and any other payment in money.

Child Support

A financial support paid by a parent to help support a child or children of whom they do not have custody. Child support can be entered into voluntarily or ordered by a court or a properly empowered administrative agency, depending on each State’s laws.

Case

A collection of people associated with a particular child support order, court hearing, and/or request for IV-D services. This typically includes a Custodial Party, a dependent(s), and a Non-custodial Parent and/or Putative Father. Every child support case has a unique Case ID number and, in addition to names and identifying information about its members, includes information such as custodial parent and non-custodial parent wage data, court order details, and non-custodial parent payment history.

Dependent

A child who is under the care of someone else. Most children who are eligible to receive child support must be a dependent. The child ceases to be a dependent when they reach the "age of emancipation" as determined by State law, but depending on the State’s provisions, may remain eligible for child support for a period after they are emancipated.

Federal Tax Refund Offset Program

Program that collects past due child support amounts from non-custodial parents through the interception of their Federal income tax refund, or an administrative payment, such as Federal retirement benefits. This program also incorporates the Passport Denial Program, which denies U.S. passports at the time of application when the applicant’s child support debts exceed $5,000. In the future, the program will expand to include the revocation and/or restriction of already issued passports. The cooperation of States in the submittal of cases for tax interception is mandatory, while submittal of cases for administrative interception is optional. The Federal Tax Refund Offset Program is operated in cooperation with the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Financial Management Service (FMS), the U.S. Department of State, and State Child Support Enforcement (CSE) Agencies.

Office of Child Support/Central Operations can help you with the following:

• Bankruptcy impacts on enforcement of child support
• Letter to Michigan Bankruptcy Trustees
• Passport denial
• Income tax refund offset program
• Enforcement through recovery of financial assets
• Referral service to the appropriate Friend of the Court or Support Specialist

Customer Service

Office of Michigan Child Support/Support Specialists
(866) 540-0008
(866) 661-0005

To begin a Child Support case and establish paternity contact:

Office of Child Support/Central Operations
(866) 540-0008

DHS support specialist toll-free at 1-866-540-0008.

mihealth card lost, stolen, or damaged
1-800-642-3195.

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