Can I collect child support from the date my child was born?

In Michigan, that's a myth.  The answer has been no,  for several years. Here's the specific law:

552.603 Support order; enforcement; information to be included; notice of new information; service of notices or other papers; accrued interest prohibited; failure to comply with requirements; fee; admission into evidence.

Sec. 3.

....

(2) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a support order that is part of a judgment or is an order in a domestic relations matter is a judgment on and after the date the support amount is due as prescribed in section 5c, with the full force, effect, and attributes of a judgment of this state, and is not, on and after the date it is due, subject to retroactive modification. No additional action is necessary to reduce support to a final judgment. Retroactive modification of a support payment due under a support order is permissible with respect to a period during which there is pending a petition for modification, but only from the date that notice of the petition was given to the payer or recipient of support.

WHAT SERVICES DOES THE FRIEND OF THE COURT PROVIDE?

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.

CAN I OBJECT TO THE FRIEND OF THE COURT REFEREE'S RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MY CASE?

YES, but you must object within 21 days of the date of service of the recommendation.

“A party may obtain a de novo review on any matter that has been the subject of a referee hearing and that resulted in a statement of findings and a recommended order by filing an appropriate objection.[1] Although the trial court may conduct the hearing by review of the record of proceedings with the referee, the trial court must allow the parties to present live evidence as to matters objected to.[2] The trial court may, in its discretion, prohibit a party from presenting live on findings of fact to which the party did not object and may find the referee’s findings conclusive as to matters to which neither party objected,[3] but the trial court must make independent conclusions as to matters to which a party did object.[4]


For example, in Cochrane v Brown,[5] the Court of Appeals reversed a lower court for limiting its review of a Friend of the Court recommendation following a party’s objection to the referee’s findings of fact and conclusions of law, the file and transcripts. The defendant-father objected to a referee’s recommendation denying his motion to modify custody. The lower court conducted the hearing but did not allow him to present evidence because the lower court’s administrative policy permitted review of the record alone.[6] But, a hearing as contemplated in MCR 3.215 “based solely on review of the referee’s hearing record is permissible only with the consent of all parties,” and the lower court “cannot simply adopt the referee’s recommendation without conducting its hearing de novo.”[7] The word “must” is a directive to allow live evidence.[8] ”

         

In many counties, you must also provide the transcripts for the referee's hearing. In all counties, you must file your objection citing specific errors of law and/or fact and file and serve that objection, along with a notice of hearing, on all parties (or their attorneys) of record.

You can learn more about Michigan's Friend of the Court system here: http://courts.mi.gov/administration/scao/officesprograms/foc/Pages/default.aspx

[1]               MCL 552.507(F); MCR 3.215(e)(4).

[2]               MCR 3.215(F)(1); see also Cochrane v Brown

[3]               MCR 3.215(F)(1)(a)-(c).

[4]               Drumm v Brodbeck, 276 Mich App 460; 740 NW2d 751 (2007).

[5]               234 Mich App 129; 592 NW2d 123 (1999).

[6]               Id.

[7]               Id.

[8]               Mann v Mann, 190 Mich App 526, 529; 476 NW2d 439 (1991) (citing Crampton v Crampton, 178 Mich App 362; 443 NW2d 419 (1989)).

HELP! CAN I CHANGE CHILD SUPPORT NOW THAT I'VE LOST MY JOB?

I lost my job and cannot afford to pay my child support. What should I do next?

If you lost your job and cannot afford to pay your child support, your circumstances have changed, and you should try to change your support amount immediately. Any child support payments that are due before you try to change your support cannot be reduced after they were due. Any change in child support ordered by the court will start on the day the other parent is notified that you have asked the court to change your child support amount, not on the day you become unemployed.  KEEP IN MIND, voluntarily becoming unemployed or underemployed won't cut it -- you will be IMPUTED that income, whether or not you still earn it.

How can I change my child support amount?

There are two ways to change child support payment amounts. First, you can ask the friend of the court (FOC) to review your child support order. The FOC will review a child support order that is older than three years and when more than three years’ time has passed since the FOC last reviewed the child support amount. If the order has changed within the last three years or if less time than three years has elapsed since the FOC last reviewed the child support order, the FOC can review child support only when there has been a change in circumstances. The FOC can usually review child support amounts if you have lost your job. If the FOC review agrees that the support order should change, the FOC will ask the court to change the order.

You can also change child support amounts through the court by filing a Motion Regarding Support (Form FOC 50). You can get a copy of the form from your local FOC or print one from: http://courts.michigan.gov/scao/courtforms/domesticrelations/drindex.htm.