Sec. 3a.
(1) Subject to subsection (6), for a friend of the court case, if the court determines that the payer has failed to pay support under a support order and the failure was willful, the court may order that on January 1 and July 1 of each year, a surcharge be added to support payments that are past due as of those dates. The surcharge shall be calculated at 6-month intervals at an annual rate of interest equal to 1% plus the average interest rate paid at auctions of 5-year United States treasury notes during the 6 months immediately preceding July 1 and January 1, as certified by the state treasurer. The amount of the surcharge shall not compound. The amount shown as due and owing on the records of the friend of the court as of January 1 and July 1 of each year shall be reduced by an amount equal to 1 month's support for purposes of assessing the surcharge. Except as provided in subsection (5), a surcharge ordered by the court applies until abated by the court.
(2) A surcharge ordered under subsection (1) shall be assessed on a semiannual cycle on January 1 and July 1 of each year except as otherwise provided under subsection (3).
(3) A surcharge shall not be assessed for the current semiannual cycle in any of the following circumstances:
(a) Beginning on July 1, 2005, in a case in which the friend of the court is collecting on a current child support obligation and the payer has paid 90% or more of the most recent semiannual obligation during the semiannual cycle.
(b) In a case in which a support order is entered after July 14, 2004, for any period of time a support order did not exist if support is later ordered for that period.
(c) If the surcharge is waived or abated under a court order under section 3d.
(4) A surcharge added under this section shall be collected and enforced by any means authorized under this act, the friend of the court act, or another appropriate federal or state law for the enforcement and collection of child support and paid through the state disbursement unit.
(5) A surcharge ordered under this section in an order entered before the effective date of the amendatory act that added this subsection is terminated on the effective date of the amendatory act that added this subsection. Another surcharge shall not be ordered in the action unless the surcharge is ordered by the court under subsection (1).
(6) After the effective date of the amendatory act that added this subsection, a court shall not order that a surcharge under subsection (1) be added before January 1, 2011.
History: Add. 1995, Act 141, Eff. Jan. 1, 1996 ;-- Am. 1996, Act 120, Imd. Eff. Mar. 6, 1996 ;-- Am. 2002, Act 572, Eff. Dec. 1, 2002 ;-- Am. 2003, Act 276, Eff. Jan. 15, 2004 ;-- Am. 2004, Act 208, Imd. Eff. July 14, 2004 ;-- Am. 2009, Act 193, Eff. Dec. 31, 2009
Structure Michigan Compiled Laws
Act 295 of 1982 - Support and Parenting Time Enforcement Act (552.601 - 552.650)
Section 552.601 - Short Title.
Section 552.602 - Definitions.
Section 552.603b - Retroactive Correction of Support Amount.
Section 552.603d - Repayment Plan.
Section 552.605 - Child Support Order; Deviation From Formula; Agreement.
Section 552.605b - Child Support After 18 Years of Age.
Section 552.605e - Payment Plan for Arrearages.
Section 552.606 - Support Order Entered Under Interstate Income Withholding Act.
Section 552.607a - Documentary Evidence of Income Withheld.
Section 552.608 - Limitation on Amount of Income Withheld.
Section 552.609 - Order of Income Withholding; Service; Notice.
Section 552.610 - Payer to Give Friend of Court Name and Address of Employer.
Section 552.611 - Order of Income Withholding; Duration; Priority.
Section 552.612 - Compliance With Order as Discharge of Liability to Payer.
Section 552.615 - Notice of Change in Circumstances.
Section 552.615a - Military Service Adjustment; Procedures.
Section 552.617 - Notice of Support Modification; Changing Amount Assigned or Withheld.
Section 552.621 - Repealed. 1990, Act 296, Imd. Eff. Dec. 14, 1990.
Section 552.624 - Offset Proceedings Against Delinquent Payer's Tax Refunds.
Section 552.625 - Enforcement of Support Orders; Providing Bond, Security, or Other Guarantee.
Section 552.625e - Freeze of Payer's Financial Assets; Execution; Notice.
Section 552.625f - Levy on Financial Assets; Challenge; Procedures.
Section 552.625g - Forwarding Money by Financial Institution, Insurer, or Carrier.
Section 552.625h - Circuit Court Review.
Section 552.626b - Order or Notice for Dependent Health Care Coverage; Requirements.
Section 552.626c - Order for Health Care Coverage; Modification Notice.
Section 552.626d - Notice to Department of Social Services Identifying Health Care Coverage.
Section 552.627 - Other Enforcement Action.
Section 552.633 - Finding Payer in Contempt; Presumption; Proof of Currently Available Resources.
Section 552.635 - Repealed. 2014, Act 378, Eff. March 17, 2015.
Section 552.635a - Alternative Contempt Track Docket.
Section 552.636 - Friend of the Court Enforcement Action; Assessment of Reasonable Expenses.
Section 552.637 - Order of Commitment.
Section 552.642a - Joint Meeting.
Section 552.648 - Centralized Receipt and Disbursement of Support and Fees.