Initial custody and parenting time determinations, change-of-custody motions, relocation disputes, and enforcement under the Michigan Child Custody Act.
Custody and parenting time disputes in Michigan are decided under the Child Custody Act of 1970, MCL 722.21 et seq., in the family division of the circuit court. The firm handles these matters in Wayne, Oakland, Washtenaw, and Macomb Counties, both within a divorce and as separate actions between parents who were never married.
Custody and parenting time matters often require the most careful and sustained advocacy of any family law work. The firm represents parents in initial custody determinations, change-of-custody motions, and parenting time disputes, including cases involving domestic violence allegations, substance abuse, interstate relocation under MCL 722.31, and court-ordered evaluations. In matters where the best interests of a child are genuinely at stake, the firm has the capacity and willingness to try the case.
Every custody decision turns on the best interests of the child, measured by the twelve factors in MCL 722.23. Before reaching those factors, the court decides whether an established custodial environment exists with one or both parents. That finding sets the burden of proof: a change that would alter an established custodial environment requires clear and convincing evidence that the change is in the child’s best interests. Much of the work in a contested case goes into building the record on those questions, through testimony, school and medical records, and, where ordered, the Friend of the Court’s investigation and recommendation.
A parent seeking to modify an existing custody order must first show proper cause or a change of circumstances sufficient to justify revisiting it, and many motions are decided at that threshold. A lower threshold generally applies to changes in parenting time that do not alter the custodial environment. Moving a child’s residence more than 100 miles while a custody order is in place generally requires the other parent’s consent or the court’s approval under MCL 722.31, and the statute lists the factors the court weighs.
When a parent does not follow a parenting time order, the remedies include makeup parenting time, modification of the schedule, and contempt proceedings. The firm also represents parents responding to those motions.
Michigan courts decide custody based on the best interests of the child, measured by the factors in MCL 722.23, which include each parent’s love and guidance, capacity to provide for the child, the stability of each home, the child’s reasonable preference, and each parent’s willingness to support the child’s relationship with the other parent. The court also asks whether the child has an established custodial environment with one or both parents. Changing an established custodial environment requires clear and convincing evidence.
Legal custody is the authority to make important decisions about a child, such as education, non-emergency medical care, and religious upbringing. Physical custody concerns where the child lives. Parents can share one, both, or neither, and Michigan courts must consider joint custody when either parent requests it.
Michigan has no set age at which a child decides. The child’s reasonable preference is one of the best-interest factors, if the court finds the child old enough to express one, but it is weighed alongside all the other factors. Judges often interview children privately rather than having them testify.
Under MCL 722.31, when parents share legal custody, a parent generally cannot move the child’s legal residence more than 100 miles away without the other parent’s consent or the court’s approval. Most Michigan custody orders also require court approval before a child’s residence is moved out of state. The court considers several statutory factors, including whether the move would improve the quality of life for the child and the relocating parent.
Yes, but the parent seeking a change must first show proper cause or a change of circumstances significant enough to justify reconsidering the order. If that threshold is met, the court then applies the best-interest factors. Ordinary life changes are not always enough, so the facts supporting a change should be documented carefully.
The Friend of the Court can investigate parenting time complaints and pursue enforcement, including makeup parenting time. A parent can also ask the court to find the other parent in contempt or to modify the order. Keeping a written record of missed or denied parenting time helps.
These answers are general information about Michigan and federal law, not legal advice about your situation. Contacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship.
The firm handles new matters on a consultative basis. Call the office, or send us a message through our contact form.