Flushing the Michigan Friend of the Court Out of Your Life

How to Prevent FOC Involvement or Stop Them from Providing Services

The Friend of the Court is a unique form of judicial employee, which only occurs in the State of Michigan, and was originally created by the Michigan Friend of the Court Act of 1919 to "...protect dependent minor children and to compel enforcement of chancery decrees where there are minor children in divorce cases, who are liable to become public charges and are not properly cared for by their custodians, and to enforce the payment of amounts decreed them in a court of chancery, and to enforce all interlocutory and decretal orders."

However, like many federally subsidized programs, managed by the states, design flaws exist to allow the state to focus programs on revenue generation instead of only aid to needy families. With these flaws nearly every case becomes a mandatory Friend of the Court case, leading to problems with service performance to needy families, privacy concerns with poorly run data management, and excessive deprivation of due process rights in the name of "judicial economy."

Many people have found through experience that it is necessary to escape the clutches of the Michigan Friend of the Court because it places parents, children, and taxpayers at risk for losing money, time with children, or other important things. I have taken the time to compile and present the necessary information that you will need to either prevent your family court or domestic relations case from being included, converted or continued as a State-managed case.

PREVENTING YOUR CASE FROM BEING AUTOMATICALLY ENTERED



It is often times easier to stop a problem before it starts, and that begins with your initial case filing. In Michigan you must plead specifically in your first filing that you do not want Friend of the Court Services and attach a motion requesting that friend of the court services not be required. You must also attach what is referred to as a Michigan SCAO Form FOC 101, also known as an FOC Advice of Rights Form, informing both parties that they can reinstate or obtain these free services at any time and practically for any reason. The Michigan Form FOC 101 must also be signed by both parties.