To help prevent the spread of COVID-19, the Tuscola County Courthouse and Friend of the Court (FOC) office is closed to the public. However, FOC will continue to offer services during this time. You may reach us as follows:
If you would like to make a support payment, please visit the Michigan State Disbursement Unit (MiSDU) at www.misdu.com.
You can access your case information, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, by signing up with MiChildSupport at www.michigan.gov/micase
If an emergency arises and one parent needs to directly give the other parent cash for child support, please ask the receiving parent to write a receipt that is both signed and dated. Receipts can be forwarded to the FOC so we can process an adjustment to the account balance.
If you lost your job and your income has significantly changed, please call FOC at 989-672-3217 or email us at foc@tuscolacounty.org to start a child support review. Alternatively, if parents have reached an agreement regarding child support, please contact FOC for assistance in modifying your court order.
All Friend of the Court hearings are being held remotely, except in limited circumstances. If you have questions about an upcoming hearing, contact the referee division at 989-672-3200.
Until the court resumes normal operations, FOC is waiving the requirement that orders are “approved as to form” prior to filing.
Given the rapidly evolving situation, please check the following resources to determine what services are available:
Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.
Sandy Erskine,There are several ways to contact the Friend of the Court
Email: foc@tuscolacounty.org
MiChild Support: micase.state.mi.us/micaseapp/public/home.html
Please note that as a result of COVID, all in person service is limited by appointment only and for services that cannot be performed by phone or online. Please contact Friend of the Court to identify the best available options to receive service.
Friend of the Court is located on the 1st floor of the Tuscola County Courthouse:
440 North State Street
Caro, Michigan 48723
Office Hours: Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The FOC Referee Division holds hearings on matters such as child support, custody, parenting time, and domicile. It is located on the 1st floor of the Tuscola County Court House (inside the Friend of the Court Office). Note, as a result of COVID, most hearings are being conducted remotely.
Enforcement Specialists are assigned to cases based on the father's last name. Contact your Enforcement Specialist if you have questions regarding show cause hearings, bench warrants, income withholding notices, employer related questions, locating individuals whose address is unknown or any other question related to enforcement.
If you have an interstate case and need information regarding the status of your case or have questions regarding medical enforcement contact the Interstate/MedicalSpecialist at the phone number listed below.
For questions about custody, parenting time, or how to file a parenting time complaint, contact our Parenting Dispute Specialist:
For questions about scheduling alternative dispute resolution (ADR), including facilitative information gathering (FIG) conferences or joint meetings, contact our ADR Coordinator:
If you have experienced a change in your financial circumstances and you would like to find out how to change your child support, contact one of our Modification Specialists:
If you have accounting, foster care, or general questions related to payments made and/or credits received, contact our Accounting Department:
Friend of the Court is responsible for enforcing court orders. A few things to keep in mind:
If you have an outstanding bench warrant, Friend of the Court will attempt to work with you to resolve this matter before you are arrested. Please contact the Friend of the Court at 989-673-4848 to discuss your options.
Michigan law requires that child support orders contain a provision requiring at least one parent to provide health insurance for their child(ren). If a party is ordered to provide health insurance, Friend of the Court will send a National Medical Support Notice (NMSN) to the party's employer. However, if the cost of providing coverage is more than 6% of the parent’s gross income, it might not be be considered a “reasonable” cost. If you believe that your employer's insurance is too expensive and therefore not reasonable, contact the Friend of the Court.
When one party incurs medical expenses that are not covered by insurance, they might be able to ask for a reimbursement from the other parent depending on what the court order says. Contact Friend of the Court at 989-673-4848 if you need help with reimbursement of medical expenses.
There are three ways to have a child support order reviewed for possible modification:
If you have questions regarding a support review, you may contact the Friend of the Court's Modification Specialists at 989-672-3217 or 989-672-3206
Friend of the Court assists parties in enforcing parenting time orders only through written request. If you have a court order for parenting time and the other party is not complying with the court's order, you may file a Parenting Time Complaint. Please remember that Friend of the Court can only enforce written court orders. Friend of the Court cannot enforce private agreements made by the parties.
Often times, modifying custody/parenting time orders can be a complicated issue because certain proofs must be made to the court before the court will modify a custody/parenting time order. You may wish to discuss this issue with an attorney to determine how best to proceed. Also, you may wish to review our "Useful Links" page for additional legal resources.
If parties have reached an agreement regarding a modification to their custody/parenting time order, they may enter into a consent agreement.
If parties have attempted to privately resolve their issues but are unable to do so, Friend of the Court may be able to help. Parties may contact Friend of the Court to set up a "joint meeting" with our parenting time coordinator. At this meeting, parties will be given an opportunity to discuss their respective issues in an attempt to reach an agreement. Friend of the Court will only schedule a joint meeting if BOTH parties are willing to attending.
If you have general questions about your custody/parenting time order, or you would like to schedule a joint meeting, please contact Friend of the Court's Parenting Time Coordinator at 989-673-4898 ext. 3212.
For a copy of the Tuscola County Friend of the Court Parenting Time Guidelines please click here.
The Domestic Relations Referee assists the Family Division judge by holding hearings and issuing recommendations regarding child support, custody, parenting time and requests for changes of domicile.
The Tuscola County Domestic Relations Referee Division is located at:
440 N. State StreetPhone Number: 989-673-4848 ext. 3200