EMMET COUNTY FRIEND OF THE COURT

57^TH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT

Honorable Charles W. Johnson P28926

Circuit Court Judge

Maurine Watts                                                Janice Miller                                       Bruce Cranham P28554

Friend of the Court                                         Deputy Friend of the Court                Circuit Court Referee

NOTICE TO CLIENTS

Last year the Emmet County Friend of the Court converted to a statewide tracking system for child support enforcement(MiCSES). This has had a major impact on Friend of the Court operations. In many situations, the Emmet County Friend of the Court no longer has control, and is no longer your initial contact point for information and services.

Here is a list of some of the changes that have occurred. Please read this document carefully and keep it for future reference. This document contains important information and telephone numbers.

Central Enforcement--Income withholding orders, financial institution data match, credit bureau reporting, tax offset intercepts, support review notices, and passport denial are now handled through the central office in Lansing.

Central Printing--Certain court orders and notices are now printed and mailed from the central office. It is important that you read all mail carefully. The order and notices appear differently from what you may have received previously.

Monthly Charge Amounts--Federal regulations require that support be charged on a monthly basis; charges will be applied on the first day of each month. To convert weekly to monthly charges, the calculation is 4.35 weeks per month times the weekly charge (i.e. $100 per week X 4.35= $435.00 per month).

Federal law requires that all payments be made to the Michigan State Disbursement Unit (MiSDU) at:

P.O. Box 30351, Lansing, MI 48909-7851.

Coupons--Payers who do not have an income withholding order must make payments directly to the MiSDU in Lansing. Payers will receive coupons by mail from the MiSDU to facilitate payment. If you do not receive a coupon, you may obtain a month's supply by calling the central customer service number toll free at 1-877-543-2660. To insure that your payment goes to the correct account, you must include all the information requested on the coupon.

Support payments--The Friend of the Court no longer disburses support payments. All checks or electronic fund transfers(EFT) are sent directly from the MiSDU in Lansing and are the responsibility of the MiSDU. If you do not receive your payment as expected, you should call the central customer service number toll free at 1-877-543-2660. Do NOT call the Friend of the Court.

Address changes--must be reported in writing to the Friend of the Court Office within 21 days of the change. This applies to both mailing and residential addresses.

Multiple cases--Because of federal regulations, if a payer has more than one case in this or another county, it is possible that a support payment may be distributed with a partial payment to EACH case rather than one case. This is required by federal regulations.

EXAMPLE: Terry (the non-custodial parent) is ordered by the court to pay $60 on case 1 and $40 on case 2. If Terry makes a $100 payment, that $100 will be distributed proportionally across both cases: 60% ($60) to case 1 and 40% ($40) to case 2.

If Terry makes a $70.00 payment, that $70 will be distributed proportionally across both cases:60% ($42) to case 1 and 40% ($28) to case 2.

The Emmet County Friend of the Court will continue to provide the following services: support investigations, enforcement of support and medical orders, set show cause hearings, support reviews, parenting time enforcement, and dispute resolution meetings. You must by law, keep the Friend of the Court advised of the following: any changes to you mailing or residential address, any change in employment, any health care coverage available for your children. Please submit updated information directly to the FOC in writing.

When you call or write the Friend of the Court, you must provide your case number and your social security number. This is critical, as the statewide computer system has cases from every county, and there are often duplicate names.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Maurine Watts

Friend of the Court