Child Support
A child support order is a court order directing a parent to pay a specific amount of money for the support of minor children not living with them. Child support orders may be issued as part of a divorce settlement, family support case, paternity action, and interstate case.
Child support generally stops when a child reaches the age of eighteen or graduates from high school, whichever occurs last, but under certain conditions may be ordered to continue until the child reaches age nineteen and one half.
When a child support order is entered, the court will usually order that the payments be automatically deducted from the payer’s paycheck. This process is known as establishing an Income Withholding Order (IWO), and is required by law. When the employer begins taking the money from the payer’s paycheck, it will be forwarded to the Michigan State Disbursement Unit, and then distributed to the person authorized to receive the child support payments. The Friend of the Court is also required to keep a record of all payments, and to take appropriate action if payments are missed.
If you desire to have child support payments established, contact a private attorney or visit the MiChildSupport Website.
If you are not receiving your court ordered child support payments, and you would like to have the Friend of the Court take appropriate action on your case, you can do so by filling out the Child Support Complaint form here. Submit the form to the Friend of the Court office and they will take appropriate steps as quickly as they are able.