Opinion
No. 00-28.
October 12, 2000.
On order of the Court, there being a need for immediate action, the notice requirements of MCR 1.201 are suspended and Rule 3.208 of the Michigan Court Rules is amended on an interim basis, as set forth later in this order. The amendment will take effect January 1, 2001, and continue until further order of the Court.
Pursuant to MCL 400.231 et seq.; MSA 25.307(1) et seq., as amended by 1999 PA 161, the Family Independence Agency is in the process of implementing a new statewide system for the receipt and disbursement of support payments. The interim amendment of Rule 3.208 will ensure that these cases are processed uniformly in the Family Division of the Circuit Court, pending final action by the Supreme Court regarding the proposal to permanently amend Rule 3.208.
Before determining whether the proposal should be adopted on a permanent basis, changed before adoption, or rejected, this notice is given to afford any interested person the opportunity to comment on the form or the merits of the proposal. We welcome the views of all who wish to address the proposal or who wish to suggest alternatives. This proposal will be considered at a public hearing by the Court. The Clerk of the Court will publish a schedule of future public hearings.
We emphasize that the interim amendment of Rule 3.208 does not mean that the Court will adopt the proposal on a permanent basis.
[The present language is amended as indicated below.]
Rule 3.208 Friend of the Court
(A)-(B) [Unchanged]
(C) Allocation and Distribution of Payments.
(1) Except as otherwise provided in this subrule, all payments shall be allocated and distributed as required by the guidelines established by the state court administrator for that purpose.
(2) If the court determines that following the guidelines established by the state court administrator would produce an unjust result in a particular case, the court may order that payments be made in a different manner. The order must include specific findings of fact that set forth the basis for the court's decision, and must direct the payer to designate with each payment the name of the payer and the payee, the case number, the amount, and the date of the order that allows the special payment.
(3) If a payer with multiple cases makes a payment directly to the friend of the court rather than through income withholding, the payment shall be allocated among all the cases unless the payer requests a different allocation in writing at the time of payment and provides the following information about each case for which payment is intended:
(a) the name of the payer,
(b) the name of the payee,
(c) the case number,
(d) the amount, and
(e) the date of the order that allows the special payment.
(4) A notice of income withholding may not be used by the friend of the court or the state disbursement unit to determine the specific allocation or distribution of payments.
Statutory Fees. The friend of the court may not deduct an unpaid statutory fee from support money paid to the office of the friend of the court. The fee must be charged to, and collected from, the person ordered to pay the support.
(D) [Unchanged]
Staff Comment: The amendment of MCR 3.208(C) on an interim basis makes the court rule consistent with the requirements of the federal child support enforcement program, and establishes uniform allocation and distribution procedures among the various circuit courts.
The staff comment is published only for the benefit of the bench and bar and is not an authoritative construction by the Court.
A copy of this order will be given to the secretary of the State Bar and to the State Court Administrator so that they can make the notifications specified in MCR 1.201. Comments on this proposal may be sent to the Supreme Court Clerk by February 1, 2001. When filing a comment, please refer to our file No. 00-28.