Friend of the Court Office
The following describes the duties of the friend of the court office in general terms.
If you have an existing case with the friend of the court, and you want specific local case information, please call the friend of the court office. However, many friend of the court offices have specific procedures about releasing information over the phone. You may have to write to the friend of the court or make an appointment with the office to receive the information that you want. See the Michigan Court Rules, Chapter 3 to view Michigan Court Rule 3.218, “Access to Friend of the Court Records.”
The friend of the court office is a part of the family division of the circuit court, and there is at least one office for each circuit court in the state. Generally, the friend of the court’s involvement in cases is limited to the areas of child custody, parenting time, and support (including health care coverage for children and spousal support). You may want to view the Model Friend of the Court Handbook.
The friend of the court must perform certain duties as required by law; see MCL 552.505 for details >>. The following are examples of some, but not all, of those mandated duties:
1) investigate and make recommendations to the circuit court judge on
child custody, parenting time, and support;
2) initiate enforcement of the court’s orders regarding custody, parenting
time, and support;
3) initiate enforcement proceedings upon receiving a written complaint
that contains specific facts of an alleged violation of a parenting
time or custody order;
4) assist a party in preparing a written complaint regarding parenting
time, if requested;
5) make available instructions and form motions, responses, and orders for modifying
support, custody, or parenting time orders.
To view many of the mandated duties of the friend of the court, see the Friend of the Court Act and the Support and Parenting Time Enforcement Act.
The law allows parties to “opt out” of receiving friend of the court services; see MCL 552.505a for details about the process. Information about friend of the court services and opting out of those services is also provided on the Advice of Rights Regarding Use of Friend of the Court Services (form FOC 101) >>. If you have already opted out of receiving friend of the court services and wish to reinstate those services, you may file a Request to Reopen Friend of the Court Case (form FOC 104) >>.