Michigan Uniform Support Orders

By: Kathryn M. Cushman

In Michigan, when child support and/or spousal support is ordered by the court, an document called a Uniform Support Order is entered which outlines the amount(s) to be paid by one party (the payor) to the other (the payee).

A Uniform Child Support Order contains a great deal of information, including the the number of children involved, the number of overnights exercised by each parent, the amount of ordinary medical support, base support and child care, if applicable. It also includes a breakdown of the percentage of the uninsured medical expenses for which each party will be responsible, calculated on a pro-rata basis.

It is very imporant to carefully review the support orders, even after they are entered, whether they are prepared by an attorney or by the court. Lately, we have seen several instances where mistakes were made, even by the court. In one case, we brought it to the court's attention and the error was immediately recitified without the need to file a formal objection to the order. In another case, the parties did not catch the mistake until several months later and unfortunately, the court enforced the order as it was written (even though the error was an obvious typographical error made by the court) as the parties failed to object to the order in a timely manner after it was issued. This proved to be a costly error for one party until the order could be modified.

For more information, contact us at Hickey, Cianciolo, Fishman & Finn, PC.