Click on the link below to access the entire March 2017 Edition as one pdf.
Pundit - March 2017
Friday, March 17, 2017
Monday, March 13, 2017
Muskegon County's Holistic Approach to Child Support is Becoming a National Model
By
Jane Hess
MSC Public Information Office
Muskegon
County’s creative and collaborative approach to administering child support has
other states taking notice.
In
2012, Muskegon’s prosecuting attorney and chief judge determined that the
public in Muskegon County would be better served by having their offices
combine resources to provide in one location the services that were formerly
provided separately.
Justice on a Planet with No Atmosphere
Imagine
you are on a planet with no atmosphere.
Much like our moon there may be great mountains, stunning vistas,
sweeping plains, and more beauty than you could ever imagine. But with no atmosphere, you cannot experience
it to the fullest because you are forced to wear a protective space suit.
Sometimes
courts can come across the same way. Court
processes and services are designed to deliver fair and just results, but
sometimes, they end up depriving court users of a true sense of what they are
going through.
The Hague Convention and What it Means For the Child Support Program
Why do I keep hearing about
this convention?
In early 2007, the Hague Conference on Private International Law called
for a convention to improve cooperation between countries to effectively
recover international child support and other family maintenance. In November
of 2007, The Hague Convention on the
International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance
(“the Convention”) released a list of recommendations and a uniform law for
participating countries, all aimed at the collection and disbursement of
international child support. The Convention was signed by all participating
parties, including the United States (US); however, this would not be effective
until further action was taken by the US Senate.
The Importance of Screening Friend of the Court Cases for Domestic Abuse
No Friend of the Court office (FOC) can
adequately anticipate when violent acts will occur. However, identifying
domestic abuse early in a case allows the FOC to take proper precautions to
promote the safety of the parties, their children, and court personnel. In
addition, identifying domestic abuse early in a case allows the FOC to gather
information about the parties’ circumstances that is needed to provide a sound
factual basis for judges and referees who must issue orders governing the
parties.
How
common is domestic abuse in the state of Michigan? According to the Michigan
Incident Crime Reporting (MICR) statistics for 2009 (the most recent year with
completed data), there were 103,331 offenses of domestic abuse reported to law
enforcement.
Weaver v. Giffels – Case Summary and Impact On FOCs
Although
child support obligations generally end when a child reaches the age of
eighteen, there are limited circumstances where the court may make an
exception. If the child reaches 18, but is attending high school full-time and
residing on a full-time basis with the child support recipient, the support
obligation may continue. In the recent State of Michigan Court of Appeals case,
Weaver v. Giffels, the court decided that
“residing on a full-time basis with the child support recipient” means the
child must physically live at the residence of the child support recipient and
intend to make that place the child’s permanent residence. Ultimately, the case
was returned to the trial court to determine whether the child resided with her
mother full-time.
Legal Corner - March 2017
MICHIGAN COURT
OF APPEALS DECISIONS
Weaver v. Giffels,
opinion of the Court of Appeals, released November 10, 2016. (Docket No.
327844). In determing whether a child is residing with a parent on a full-time
basis for the purpose of contining child support, the custody and parenting
time order is irrelevant because the order no longer applies to an 18-year-old;
rather, full-time basis refers to the child’s physical presence at the child
support recipient’s residence combined with the child’s intent to reside there
permanently.
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