Ionia County

Ionia County, Michigan

Child Support Issues

Courts Friend of the Court Child Support Issues

The statewide Michigan Child Support Enforcement System (MiCSES), was implemented – EFFECTIVE July 1, 2003.

MiCSES is a federally mandated computer program, which follows specific federal payment procedures. The program will disburse money according to these federal procedures. Current child support will be paid first and child support arrearages will go to the families before going to pay back money owed to the State of Michigan. Under the new distribution guidelines, payees may find that the support payments received early in the month may be more than they are accustomed to receiving. Later in the month, your child support payment may be reduced as the monthly obligations to you are paid and the payment is used to cover other obligations. If a payer has cases in multiple counties, this may affect your child support payment amounts, especially tax offset distribution.

Distribution to Multiple Cases – If a payer has more than one case in this or another county, it is possible that a payment may be distributed as a partial payment to each case rather than all of the withholding to one case. This is required by federal regulations. For more information on how child support is allocated on one case and/or multiple cases go to www.misdu.com.

Payments to Payees – Central processing of payments

The Friend of the Court no longer accepts payments at the FOC office. Federal laws require that all payments, be made to the Michigan State Disbursement Unit (MiSDU) at P.O. Box 30350, Lansing, MI 48909-7850.

  • Coupons – Payers who do not have an Income Withholding Order will receive notices instructing them to submit support payments directly to the MiSDU, not to the Friend of the Court. Payers will be receiving coupons by mail from the MiSDU. The exception to this rule is if you have been directed by an FOC employee to make a payment at the Friend of the Court as a payment agreement or for fees or fines.
  • Child Support will either be by EFT transfers (direct deposit) to a personal checking / savings account or by Debit Card from MiSDU. Direct deposit of your child support into your checking or savings account is encouraged! This process of electronic transfer of funds to your account is the fastest and safest way to receive child support money. If you have already signed up for direct deposit with the FOC, there is nothing for you to do. Forms are also available at the FOC office or by contacting the FOC AT (616) 527-5310 and using the IVR (interactive voice response) to request an EFT change form. Once signed up, your support money will be directly deposited. If you change bank accounts you will need to notify the MiSDU.
  • If you currently have cases in more than one county with more than one account for direct deposit, you will need to change them all to one account. You must fill out a direct deposit form or the debit card will be automatically mailed to the payee.
  • If you do not receive your payment, you must contact MiSDU toll free at 1-800-817-0632. Please do not contact the Friend of the Court to request the status of your support.
  • Address Changes – Must be reported in writing to the Friend of the Court and/or to MiSDU. Forms are available at the FOC office or by calling the IVR at (616) 527-5310 or follow the link below

Go to Forms »

Parenting Time Abatement (credit)

For Orders entered before October 1, 2008, you may be entitled to credit for retroactive parenting time (as directed by your Court Order). Abatements will be applied directly to the case by filing a parenting time abatement form (forms available at the FOC) and can be refunded ONLY in those instances where ALL of a payer’s cases are paid up to date. Direct refunds for parenting time abatements will no longer be issued. Support Orders with a support commencement date on / after October 1, 2008 are not eligible for parenting time abatement. The updated Michigan Child Support Formula now uses parental time offset which eliminates parenting time abatements and the use of the shared economic responsibility formula. When calculating support, the formula takes into consideration the average parenting time overnights a parent has his / her children and the base support amount is automatically adjusted for this.

Credit Card Payments

Credit card payments will continue to be accepted by the Friend of the Court. The phone number for credit card payments is: 888-604-7888. A fee for service equal to 5% will be added to the amounts due.

Friend of the Court

Rebecca A. Shermak
FOC Director/Circuit Court Referee

Location:
100 W. Main St.
Ionia, MI 48846

Phone:
(877) 543-2660 ?

The Interactive Voice Response System (IVR)

*The Interactive Voice Response System (IVR) gives you access to your specific case information, as well as general information about Friend of the Court services. This is the easiest and quickest way to get account information. Please use the IVR line before you contact your case worker. A major change in the IVR procedure is that the first time you use the system; you will need to enter your Social Security number in order to access your case information. Then you will be prompted to set a PIN (Personal Identification Number), so that no one else can access your account. You must remember this PIN and use it each time you access your account. Please be sure to write it down. Although no one can change account information on the telephone, if you want to keep your information private, you should not share your PIN. If you lose or forget your PIN, the directions are available online for re-setting the PIN. YOU WILL HAVE ACCESS TO MiSDU through the IVR system and are encouraged to use this first before contacting your Case Manager.