If you are considering opting out of Friend of the Court services, think again -- you will be walking away from many helpful, and often free, services:
a. Accounting Services
Friends of the court must collect support and disburse it within 48 hours. Friend of the court accounting services include:
1) friend of the court accounting for payments received and sent,
2) adjustments of support for parenting time or other credits,
3) annual statements of accounts, if requested.
b. Support Enforcement Services
The friend of the court must begin to enforce support when one month of support is overdue. For friend of the court cases, child-support enforcement services include:
• paying support out of tax refunds.
• asking the court to order the nonpaying party to come to court to explain the failure to pay.
• having unpaid support paid out of property the payer owns.
• reporting support arrearage to a consumer reporting agency or requesting that the payer’s license(s) be suspended.
• collecting support by an income withholding order.
c. Medical Support Enforcement Services
The friend of the court is required to recommend how the parents divide health-care expenses and to take action to collect the amounts that a parent fails or refuses to pay. When a parent is required to insure the children, the friend of the court is authorized to instruct an employer to enroll the children in an insurance plan when the parent fails or refuses to do so.
d. Support Review and Modification Services
Once every three years, persons with friend of the court cases may request the friend of the court to review the support amount. After completing the review, the friend of the court must file a motion to raise or lower support, or inform the parties that it recommends no change. It must also review support when changed circumstances lead it to believe that support should be modified.
e. Custody and Parenting-Time Investigation Services
For disputes about custody or parenting time in friend of the court cases, the friend of the court sometimes must investigate and provide reports to the parties and the court.
f. Mediation Services
Friend of the court offices must provide mediation services to help parties with friend of the court cases settle custody and parenting-time disputes.
g. Custody and Parenting-Time Enforcement Services
For friend of the court cases, the friend of the court must enforce custody and parenting time when a party complains that it is violated. Child-custody and parenting-time enforcement services include:
• asking the court to order the noncooperating party to come to court to explain the failure to obey the parenting-time order.
• suspending the licenses of individuals who deny parenting time.
• awarding makeup parenting time.
• joint meetings to resolve complaints.