Statutes: Michigan

(A) Governing Rules. Actions under the Revised Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act (RURESA), MCL 780.151 et seq., the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA), MCL 552.2101 et seq., and the Uniform Child-Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA), MCL 722.1101 et seq., are governed by the rules applicable to other civil actions, except as otherwise provided by those acts and this rule.

(B) RURESA Actions.

(1) Definition. As used in this subrule, “support order” is defined by MCL 780.153b(8).

(2) Transfer; Initiating and Responding RURESA Cases.

(a) If a Michigan court initiates a RURESA action and there exists in another Michigan court a prior valid support order, the initiating court must transfer to that other court any RURESA order entered in a responding state. The initiating court must inform the responding court of the transfer.

(b) If a court in another state initiates a RURESA action and there exists in Michigan a prior valid support order, the responsive proceeding should be commenced in the court that issued the prior valid support order. If the responsive proceeding is commenced erroneously in any other Michigan court and a RURESA order enters, that court, upon learning of the error, must transfer the RURESA order to the court that issued the prior valid support order. The transferring court must inform the initiating court of the transfer.

(c) A court ordering a transfer must send to the court that issued the prior valid support order all pertinent records. The clerk of the court and the friend of the court office must prepare the court and friend of the court records for transfer in accordance with the transfer order and the Michigan Trial Court Records Management Standards. The records must be sent to the court that issued the prior valid support order by a secure method within one business day of the date of the transfer order.

(d) The friend of the court office that issued the prior valid support order must receive and disburse immediately all payments made by the obligor or sent by a responding state.

(C) Sending Notices in UIFSA Cases. The friend of the court office shall send all notices and copies of orders required to be sent by the tribunal under MCL 552.2101 et seq.

(D) Registration of Child Custody Determinations Under UCCJEA. The procedure for registration and enforcement of a child custody determination by the court of another state is as provided in MCL 722.1304. There is no fee for the registration of such a determination.