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Saginaw County Friend of the Court

NOTICE: The information contained on this website, particularly the forms and procedures, pertain specifically to the Saginaw County Friend of the Court Office. Friend of the Court Offices in other counties use different forms and may have different policies as required by the family division judges of their circuit.

PAYMENT WINDOW-1ST FLOOR: The responsibility of the employees at the payment window is to solely process support payments. Any questions related to your case need to be addressed by the second floor staff. The payment window is open from 8:15 AM to 4:00 PM. The only payments that may be made at the payment window are those that deal with enforcement fees and lump sum amounts or those clients who have been directed to pay at the payment window by a Friend of the Court employee. All other payments MUST be made through the Michigan State Disbursement Unit (MiSDU) - P.O. Box 30350, Lansing, MI 48909-7850.

SUPPORT SPECIALIST CONTACT: Support Specialists (who deal only with support issues) may be reached on Tuesdays by phone between the hours of 8:30 AM and 1:00 PM and again from 2:00 PM until 4:00 PM. Due to the high volume of calls received, you may have to leave a message with a number where you can be reached. You may not receive a call back the same day that you call in. Saginaw County outgoing calls indicate "anonymous" and, therefore, if you have "privacy manager", this may pose a problem. Calls are returned in the order in which they are received. Walk-in hours for support issues only are Thursdays from 8:30 AM until 12:30 PM and again from 2:00 PM until 4:00 PM. Written correspondence may be mailed or faxed.

MEDICAL ENFORCEMENT: Clients may submit their questions and problems regarding health insurance and out-of-pocket health care costs in writing to the attention of "Medical Enforcement Division."
The Medical Support Specialist takes phone calls on Tuesdays from 8:30 AM until 4:00 PM and also takes walk ins on Thursdays from 8:30 AM until 12:30 PM and again from 2:00 PM until 4:00 PM.

INFORMATION BY PHONE: If you have questions regarding your child support account, please call (989)790-5300 and connect to the IVR (Interactive Voice Response System). When connected to the IVR, you may transfer to a representative with the MiSDU. These representatives with the MiSDU will help in answering questions regarding disbursement of payments, issuance of checks, and any other account related question. You may also request that your payments be electronically deposited into your account if you are a payee. In order to request an address change or name change, you must submit a request in writing along with documentation showing your address change or name change such as a driver's license or marriage certificate.

FORMS: Various forms are available in the second floor lobby of the Friend of the Court Office and under the "Forms" section of this website. These include petitions to modify support, custody, parenting time, and domicile. Requests for show cause hearings for violation of parenting time orders are also available in addition to petitions to rescind license suspensions.

FRIEND OF THE COURT INFORMATIONAL HANDBOOK: These handbooks are located in the second floor lobby of the Friend of the Court Office. If you are unable to locate them, please ask the receptionist. In regard to recent changes, including the addition of a Circuit Court Facilitator, some of the information in the Friend of the Court Handbook has not yet been updated.

ENFORCEMENT DIVISION: The Saginaw County Friend of the Court has a child support enforcement division that actively and aggressively enforces child support orders entered by the court. It is extremely important that child support be paid in a timely fashion. If anyone falls behind in his/her child support in an amount equaling a total of eight weeks or more and is not currently making regular payments, enforcement action will be taken. This could result in an arrest warrant, suspension of driver's license, liens on real and personal property, liens on income tax refunds, and an array of remedies available to the court. Those individuals arrested for nonpayment of support may be sentenced to jail or Work Detail under the Community Service Work Program.

INTERSTATE SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT: Friend of the Court Caseworker Marcia Coughlin deals with the enforcement of interstate support orders.

CIRCUIT COURT REFEREE OFFICE: Lynda L. Heathscott, Circuit Court Referee, conducts hearings on child support modifications. Contact the Referee Office (located on the first floor, directly below the Friend of the Court Office) by calling (989) 790-5315 Monday through Friday from 8:15 AM to Noon and 1 PM to 5PM.

COURT-ORDERED INVESTIGATIONS: Disputes regarding custody, parenting time, and/or domicile may be referred to the Friend of the Court for an investigation and written recommendation. An investigation fee will be assessed against one or both parties before said investigation is begun.

CIRCUIT COURT FACILITATION: There will be mandatory facilitation in all new divorce cases with minor children. After a complaint for divorce has been filed, parties will receive written notices requiring them to meet with the Facilitator, Attorney Denise Clack, to resolve/discuss custody, parenting time, and child support. The Facilitator prepares an order based on said meeting which addresses these issues. The order also contains a provision requiring the parties to attend the Divorce Adjustment Program at Westland Child Guidance Clinic before their divorce becomes final. Failure to attend the Divorce Adjustment Program will result in possible contempt proceedings and court costs of $150. If you need to contact the Facilitator's Office regarding your scheduled meeting, call (989) 790-5314 Monday through Friday from 8:15 AM to Noon and 1 PM to 5 PM.

TEAM OPERATION: The Saginaw County Friend of the Court operates as a team to serve clients more effectively. Each team consists of three people: an Attorney, Administrative Secretary, and Support Specialist. The division of the caseload is determined by the family court judge assigned to each case (as outlined below).

Judge	Support Specialist	Supervising Attorney
Judge 1 Honorable Fred L. Borchard	Linda Vogelaar	Marilyn Meyer
Judge 2 Honorable Robert L. Kaczmarek	Doris Myrick	Kristy Bushon
Judge 3 Honorable Janet M. Boes	Cathy Westendorf	Hamed W. Suffety, Jr
Judge 4 Honorable William A. Crane	Kathy Martin	Katheryn A Houck
Judge 5 Honorable Darnell Jackson	Elizabeth Dugan	Hamed W. Suffety, Jr. (M - Z) Katheryn A. Houck (A - L)
Judge P1 Honorable Patrick J. McGraw	By Non Custodial Parent's Last Name: Linda Vogelaar A - C Doris Myrick D - G Cathy Westendorf H - L Kathy Martin M - R Elizabeth Dugan S - Z	Judge McGraw handles probate, paternity, interstate support, and family support actions. Kristy Bushon (A - L) Marilyn Meyer (M - Z)
Judge P2 Honorable Faye M. Harrison		Judge Harrison handles child abuse/neglect cases, adoptions, and juvenile delinquency proceedings Kristy Bushon (A - L) Marilyn Meyer (M - Z)

© 2009 County of Saginaw