An ADAM attorney recently represented a father in a child support dispute. The Friend of the Court (FOC) issued a recommended support amount, and he suspected it was too high — both because it did not accurately reflect his income and because the children were in his custody as much time, if not more, as they were with the mother. He called ADAM for help.

Filing Objections to the FOC Recommendation

The attorney immediately filed objections to the FOC recommendation and requested a hearing before the judge assigned to the case. Under Michigan law, either party has 21 days from the date of service to object to a FOC recommended support order — if no objection is filed, the recommendation becomes a binding court order. Acting quickly was critical.

It is important to understand that the FOC recommendation is not final. It is a starting point, and fathers who believe the recommended amount is inaccurate have every right to challenge it before a judge. At ADAM, we routinely find errors in FOC calculations that, left unchallenged, would cost fathers thousands of dollars over the life of a support obligation.

What the Attorney Found

In preparation for the hearing, our attorney identified three significant errors in the FOC’s calculation:

Each of these errors, on its own, would have resulted in an inflated support obligation. Together, they painted a significantly distorted picture of what this father actually owed.

The Outcome at the Hearing

At the hearing, the judge corrected all three errors. The court lowered the father’s income to reflect his current earnings, credited him for the health insurance premiums he provided for the children, and increased the number of overnights used to calculate his parenting time offset. These adjustments resulted in a reduction of more than one-third of his monthly child support obligation.

Given the young ages of the children, this father could expect to realize a significant cumulative savings over the full duration of his child support obligation. In Michigan, child support generally continues until a child turns 18, meaning errors in the original calculation compound in cost over many years.

Is Your Child Support Amount Accurate?

If you believe your child support obligation does not accurately reflect your income, your parenting time, or the expenses you cover for your children, you have the right to request a review. Common grounds for challenging or modifying a support order include changes in employment, changes in parenting time or custody arrangements, and costs such as health insurance or childcare that were not properly credited. Learn more about how child support is calculated in Michigan and what factors the court considers.

If you feel that your child support obligation needs to be reevaluated, give ADAM a call today to set up an appointment with one of our family law attorneys.

About ADAM (American Divorce Association for Men)

The American Divorce Association for Men (ADAM) is a group of highly qualified attorneys who advocate for men’s rights in divorce, child custody and parenting time, paternity, support, property settlement, post-judgment modifications, and other family law matters. Since 1988, ADAM has been aggressive, diligent, and uncompromising when representing their clients. A team of compassionate and skilled family law attorneys, ADAM is dedicated to being Michigan’s leading divorce attorneys for men and practices a policy of integrity in all dealings.