IMPORTANT NOTICE

TO PAYERS OF CHILD SUPPORT

What to do if you, as a payer of child support, should you lose your source of income from employment, for any reason (fired, laid off, injured on the job, incarceration, etc), or from Unemployment Compensation Benefits, or insurance settlements or any other type of reimbursement.

1 Your child support obligation has been established by Court Order.

2 The obligation can only be changed by modification (change) of that existing order.

3 There are two ways to accomplish a modification to a child support Order.

A. The first is pursuant to a written agreement between the Payer and the Payee (custodial parent), signed and dated by both parties. Such an agreement should be very specific as to the monthly (or weekly) amount of child support agreed to and secondly, the agreement must be specific as to the effective date of the agreement and the effective date must be stated in the written agreement.

NOTE: If the children are receiving public assistance (TANF, Food Stamps, Medicaid) agreements are not allowed. Child support must be set according the Michigan Child Support Formula Guidelines.

B. In the absence of an agreement between the parents, the party seeking a modification of the existing Court Order may file a child support petition (Motion), requesting the Court to modify the child support obligation, due to a “significant change in circumstances.”

Child support motions can be obtained from the Oceana County Friend of the Court. There is a $60.00 fee due at the time the Motion is filed with the 27th Circuit Court Clerk.

By statute, the effective date of any modification to an Order as the result of the filing of a petition (Motion) can be no earlier than the date of the filing of the petition, unless agreed to by the other party.

If neither of these options are exercised, the existing Order shall remain as the operative and enforceable Order and the monthly obligation will continue to accrue per the existing Order, regardless of whether or not the payer can afford the ordered amount.