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 RESERVE AND
NATIONAL GUARD SOLDIERS
Operation Enduring Freedom and other international conflicts will require that many parents
serving part-time in the National Guard and Reserves be called to active military duty, either
at home or abroad. First and foremost, the Friend of the Court Bureau thanks you for your service
to our country.
The Friend of the Court Bureau also wants to assist parents during the transition to
active military service by ensuring that their children's court-ordered support payments are not
disrupted. The information on these web pages will explain the child support rules that affect
active-duty military personnel; for example, those that govern the review and adjustment of
child support orders, medical support, and passport requests.
If you are a parent who has been called to active duty, you must report your change of address and
employment status to your county friend of the court office. This is especially critical for
parents whose child support payments are currently being withheld from their civilian paychecks.
For good advice on how to reduce the emotional stress experienced by a deployed soldier's children
and other family members, see the following tips from the U.S.
Department of Defense.
Child Support Modification for Emergency Military Service
Effective December 28, 2006, a new law, 485 PA 2006 (MCL 552.615a), allows a military service adjustment of child support orders for a payer called to emergency military service. Emergency military service means that the payer of child support is:
- A member of the armed forces reserves or national guard and
- Called into active military duty for a period of more than 30 days.
To request a military service adjustment of a support order, the service member must:
- Provide a written request for the adjustment to the office of the friend of the court (FOC) and
- Provide information (documentation/verification) showing both the military pay while on active duty and the civilian income upon which the existing support order is based.
To calculate a military adjustment, multiply the payer's child support obligation by a fraction that represents the portion of pay the service member receives on duty in relation to the income on which the child support is based. The fraction numerator is the payer's income during emergency military service and the denominator is the payer's income upon which the support was originally based. See example below.
Payer's current support obligation: $350 per month.
Payer's income upon which the support obligation is based: $38,000 per year.
Payer's income while on emergency military service: $25,000 per year.
The military service adjustment will be calculated by:
STEP 1:
$25,000 (numerator)
--------------------------------- = .66
$38,000 (denominator
STEP 2:
.66 x $350 per month (current support) = $231 per month adjusted support
Qualifying service members do not become eligible for a military service adjustment until the friend of the court receives a request. If the payer makes the adjustment request on or before 56 days from the date the payer is called to emergency military service, the adjustment will take effect beginning on the date of the commencement of emergency military service. If the payer requests the adjustment more than 56 days after the payer is called to emergency military service, the adjustment will be effective on the date of the written request.
Upon receipt of the request for a mlitary service adjustment, the FOC will calculate the adjustment and notify all parties of the following:
- The adjustment amount,
- The effective date of the adjustment,
- The right to object to the adjustment amount within 21 days, and
- The place and manner for filing objections.
If a party objects to the military service adjustment, the adjustment remains in effect until the objection is resolved or until 35 days after the payer's emergency military service ends, whichever is sooner.
If a party files an objection, the FOC should schedule a hearing before a judge or referee to determine if the adjustment should remain in effect, be modified, or be set aside. The hearing shall be held as soon as possible, and the payer may appear at the hearing by any means authorized under Supreme Court rules. [MCR 3.210 and 3.215] If the hearing cannot be held during the emergency military service, the court should do one of the following:
- Hold the hearing no later than 35 days after the payer's emergency service ends.
- Conduct a support review when the payer returns from military service. Substitute the notice of adjustment for the petition for modification of support to determine an effective date for modification.
- Schedule a meeting between the parties when the payer returns to resolve the dispute over whether the adjustment should be set aside or modified.
For more information, please contact your county FOC office.
Medical Support
Parents who are called to active duty for more than 30 days may enroll their children in the
military health care coverage plan known as TRICARE by contacting the appropriate office at
their military base. If the military parent does not enroll the children in TRICARE, the other
parent can initiate enrollment at any military base in the world. For more information on the
military health system, visit the U.S. Department of Defense
TRICARE website.
Passport
Your call to active duty may require you to obtain a valid passport before deployment. The U.S. State
Department will refuse to issue or renew passports to parents who owe $2,500 or more in past-due
child support. Parents whose passport applications are denied for that reason should contact the
county friend
of the court office to work out an installment payment agreement. As long as that agreement is
in place and the payments are current, the parent may obtain a passport without paying the full
arrearage immediately.
Employer Information
If an employer is withholding part of an employee's income for child support payments and the
employee is called to active military duty, the employer must contact the friend of the court
office that issued the income withholding notice. The employer should specify the date of
activation so that the friend of the court can issue a new income withholding notice to the
proper military branch. By providing this information, the employer helps the employee avoid
a lapse in the payments to the children.
When the employee is called to active military duty, the employer must retain the previous income
withholding notice so that the withholding of civilian income can resume when the employee returns
to the civilian job.
General information about how a call to active military duty affects child support obligations
may be found on the federal
Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) website. That website provides a general summary.
Case-specific information can be obtained by contacting the
county
friend of the court office that is handling the case.
On behalf of America's children, we thank employers for the vital role they play in the
child support enforcement program. By withholding child support payments from employees' paychecks
and enrolling children in their parents' health insurance plan, employers help ensure the financial
security of children and families.
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