Tuscola County Friend Of The Court

Accounting and EFT

THE ACCOUNTING DEPARTMENT

GENERAL DESCRIPTION: The Accounting Department enters court order information into the computer system. A court order is a legal document that is signed by a judge. The accounts are adjusted according to the order. This includes charging the account for child support, spousal support, medical demands, court ordered fees, court costs, and anything else ordered payable through the Friend of the Court Office. The Accounting Department assists the clients in understanding their accounts.

ACCESS FILE: Upon filing an access to Friend of the Court records form, clients may be able to view everything in the file not deemed confidential by court rule. There is a fee charged for this service.  The Friend of the Court file will not be available at the hearings of the Judges or Referee.

ARREARAGES: Past due support is not discharged after the child(ren) turn 18 years of age. Arrearages must be paid in full unless an order of the court dismisses them.

AUDIT: An audit of an account will be completed by the Friend of the Court Office upon filing of an audit request form.  Audit request forms with fees schedule are available on this website under "FORMS".

CERTIFICATION/DECERTIFICATION: Child support, childcare, and spousal support will be redirected to the State of Michigan upon notification from the Department of Human Services. Payments will resume to the custodial parent effective upon notification from the Department of Human Services.

CHANGES: All changes in addresses, names, income, children's addresses, and the children's schooling must be submitted in writing with your signature within 21 days from the change.

CHILD SUPPORT: Child support is charged per a court order. Child support usually charges until the children are 18 years of age and have graduated from high school. If any public assistance is involved in the case, parties may not agree to hold child support in abeyance.

CLOSING CASES: A 60 DAY NOTICE and a NOTICE OF CASE CLOSURE are sent to each party before a case is closed through the Friend of the Court Office. Possible reasons for case closure are as follows: the child(ren) emancipate and the account paid in full, an order of dismissal, or termination of parental rights and the account paid in full.

EFT (ELECTRONIC FUND TRANSFER): Effective February 1, 2006, all child support payments will be made by direct deposit or placed on a ReliaCard Visa debit card. In other words, payment will be put directly into your savings or checking account at a financial institution, or added to your debit card provided by the MiSDU.

IV-D: IV-D is a term derived from the Social Security Act. Federal regulations prescribe which families qualify and specify the services. These are based upon public assistance eligibility, formerly receiving public assistance or Medicaid only, or the family applying for child support services and not being eligible for services based on current or past receipt of assistance. Some of the services under this act include identifying and locating parents who are or may be liable for support, establishes paternity for children born out of wedlock, modifies support orders, identifying and reporting health insurance policies for the minor children, and eligibility for tax offset reporting.

PARENTING TIME ABATEMENTS: A parenting time abatement is a retroactive decrease in the child support obligation pursuant to a court order. Most court orders state a 50% reduction in child support after the non-custodial parent has the children 6 or 7 consecutive overnight periods.

PETITIONS: Petitions to change your court order are available at the Friend of the Court Office or on this website under "FORMS". These are filed at the Tuscola County Clerk's Office.