What the Friend of the Court Actually Does in Michigan — and What It Can't Do

Plenty of parents first hear from the Friend of the Court without ever asking for it. A support payment posts late, an exchange goes badly, and a letter arrives from an office nobody explained — asking questions, scheduling a meeting, sometimes threatening a hearing. Knowing what that office can and cannot do is the difference between using it and being blindsided. This blog is for those who don't understand what Friend of the Court ("FOC") is, and does.

What the Office Is — and Isn't

Michigan's Friend of the Court Act, MCL 552.501 et seq., provides for an office of the Friend of the Court in each judicial circuit, and MCL 552.503(4) makes the friend of the court an employee of that circuit court.

That detail matters. The office is an arm of the court — not a party to your case, and not your attorney. SCAO's Friend of the Court Model Handbook says it plainly: "The FOC does not represent either party," and lists among the things the office has no authority to do "Change an order" and "Give legal advice."

The Investigation and the Recommendation

When the court orders it, the office must investigate all relevant facts and make a written report and recommendation — on custody and parenting time under MCL 552.505(1)(g), on child support under MCL 552.505(1)(h).

SCAO's Michigan Custody Guideline describes investigations built on meetings with each parent, age-appropriate interviews with the child, and outside records, and a report organized around the best-interest factors of MCL 722.23 that closes with a statement on the established custodial environment.

Two provisions catch people off guard. Under MCL 552.505(2), if you request a meeting and then miss it without good cause, the investigation may be completed without a meeting with you. And under MCL 552.505(3), the office may charge each party up to its expenses for the report, subject to waiver or suspension for indigency or inability to pay.

Under MCL 552.507a, the report and supporting documents go to the parties and their attorneys before the court acts on it. But a recommendation is a recommendation. The same Custody Guideline says it plainly: "Judges decide custody matters, not the friend of the court."

Enforcement: What the Office Does Day to Day

MCL 552.509(4) requires the office to enforce an order regarding custody, parenting time, health care coverage, or support. Support enforcement runs through the Support and Parenting Time Enforcement Act, MCL 552.601 et seq., and MCR 3.208, under which the office may move for an order to show cause why a party should not be held in contempt — no sooner than seven days after service, or nine if mailed. MCR 3.208(B)(4).

For parenting time, you start with a complaint under MCL 552.511b. MCL 552.641(1) then directs the office to do one or more of the following: apply a makeup parenting time policy under MCL 552.642, commence civil contempt proceedings under MCL 552.644, move to modify parenting time under MCL 552.517d, schedule mediation under MCL 552.513, or schedule a joint meeting under MCL 552.642a. Under MCL 552.641(2)(b), though, the office may decline to respond if the violation occurred more than 56 days before the complaint was submitted.

What the Friend of the Court Cannot Do

It cannot decide your case, and it cannot advise you on it. The office must make form motions and orders available "to be used by a party, without the assistance of legal counsel," MCL 552.505(1)(d) — but a blank form is not advice about filing it.

It cannot enforce a term your order doesn't contain. Under MCL 552.641(2)(c), the office may decline to respond where the order "does not include an enforceable provision that is relevant to" the violation alleged. An order granting "reasonable parenting time" with no schedule may be exactly that.

It cannot rewrite your order on its own. Changing custody takes a motion and, as a threshold matter, proper cause or a change of circumstances under MCL 722.27(1)(c). Vodvarka v Grasmeyer, 259 Mich App 499; 675 NW2d 847 (2003). Where the change would alter the established custodial environment, that subsection also requires clear and convincing evidence it is in the child's best interest. A more flexible standard governs parenting time where the custodial environment would not change. Shade v Wright, 291 Mich App 17; 805 NW2d 1 (2010). Note what the office can do, though: under MCL 552.517d it may itself move to modify parenting time, and if nobody objects within 21 days an order can go to the judge without a hearing.

And it cannot hand you its whole file: MCR 3.218 makes staff notes, communications from minors, and mediation records confidential.

If You Disagree: Objections and Grievances

If a referee heard your motion, your remedy is specific and short. Under MCL 552.507(2)(a) a referee may hear motions referred by the court, except motions pertaining to an increase or decrease in spouse support. MCL 552.507(4) then entitles either party to a de novo hearing before the judge on written request, made within 21 days after the recommendation is made available to that party.

MCR 3.215 supplies the mechanics, and states the trigger differently. Under MCR 3.215(E)(1)(b)(ii) the recommended order must carry notice that if the court approves it and no written objection is filed within 21 days after service, it becomes the final order. MCR 3.215(E)(4) is the mechanism: file a written objection and notice of hearing in that same 21 days. Because the statute runs from when the recommendation is made available and the rule from service, count from the earlier date. Under MCR 3.215(F)(2) the court must then allow live evidence, though it may bar evidence on findings nobody objected to. SCAO form FOC 68 is the objection form.

A grievance is a different animal. Under MCL 552.526(1)(a) you may file a written grievance about the office, which must respond within 30 days or say why it cannot; MCL 552.526(1)(b) lets you take it to the chief judge. But the Model Handbook is blunt: "A grievance cannot change the FOC's recommendation, a referee's recommendation, or a judge's decision." Do not file a grievance if you are looking to change a Friend of the Court recommendation, remember you are looking to convince someone to do something. Sometimes "hitting someone over the head" isn't the best course of action.

What This Means for You

Read your order first. MCL 552.641(2)(c) lets the office decline where your order has no enforceable provision relevant to the violation — which is how vague language stops enforcement before it starts.

Watch two numbers: 21 days to object to a referee's recommendation, under MCL 552.507(4) and MCR 3.215(E)(4), and 56 days on a parenting time complaint, after which MCL 552.641(2)(b) lets the office decline to act — though that is no bar on going to court.

Treat the investigation as evidence gathering. Under MCL 552.507a the report reaches the judge before the court acts, and the office is not weighing your side for you.

And know which track you are on. A grievance addresses how the office handled your case; an objection addresses what the referee recommended. Filing the first does not preserve the deadline on the second.

If you have a Friend of the Court matter in Kent County or elsewhere in Michigan — an investigation underway, a referee recommendation you may want to object to, or an order that is not being followed — Scozzari Law, PLLC can discuss your situation and the deadlines that may apply to it. Call us at (616) 226-4343 or email james.scozzari@scozzarilaw.com to schedule an appointment today!

This article is general information about Michigan law and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship with Scozzari Law, PLLC. Michigan law changes, and how it applies depends entirely on the facts of your case. If you have a family law or criminal matter in Kent County or elsewhere in Michigan, talk to a lawyer about your specific situation.