Michigan Laws 552.678 – Prima facie proof; defenses of obligor; burden; duties of court
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(1) At any hearing contesting proposed income withholding based on a support order entered under section 6, the support order, accompanying sworn or certified statement, and a certified copy of an order of income withholding still in effect, if any, shall constitute prima facie proof, without further proof or foundation, that the support order is valid, that the amount of current support payments and arrearages is as stated, and that the obligee would be entitled to income withholding under the law of the jurisdiction which issued the support order.
(2) Once a prima facie case has been established as provided in subsection (1), the obligor may raise only the following defenses:
Terms Used In Michigan Laws 552.678
- Agency: means the court or entity in another jurisdiction with functions similar to those assigned in this act to the office of the friend of the court and the office of child support relative to the issuance and enforcement of support orders. See Michigan Laws 552.673
- Court: means the circuit court of this state and, when the context requires, the court or entity of another jurisdiction with functions similar to those assigned in this act to the circuit court of this state relative to the issuance and enforcement of support orders. See Michigan Laws 552.673
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
- Income: means income as defined in section 2 of the support and parenting time enforcement act, MCL 552. See Michigan Laws 552.673
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Jurisdiction: means a state or political subdivision, territory, or possession of the United States; the District of Columbia; or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. See Michigan Laws 552.673
- Obligee: means a person or entity that is entitled to receive support under a support order, and includes an entity of another jurisdiction to which a person has assigned his or her right to support. See Michigan Laws 552.673
- Obligor: means a person required to make payments under the terms of a support order for a child, spouse, or former spouse. See Michigan Laws 552.673
- Order of income withholding: means order of income withholding as defined in section 2 of the support and parenting time enforcement act, MCL 552. See Michigan Laws 552.673
- Statute of limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.
- Support order: means an order or judgment for the support, or for the payment of arrearages on the support, of a child, spouse, or former spouse issued by a court or agency of another jurisdiction, whether interlocutory or final, whether or not prospectively or retroactively modifiable, whether incidental to a proceeding for divorce, separate maintenance, paternity, guardianship, or equivalent proceeding, or otherwise. See Michigan Laws 552.673
(a) That withholding is not proper because of a mistake of fact concerning the amount of current or overdue support or the identity of the obligor.
(b) That the court or agency which issued the support order entered under this act lacked personal jurisdiction over the obligor.
(c) That the support order entered under this act was obtained by fraud.
(d) That the statute of limitations under section 13 (3) precludes enforcement of all or part of the arrearages.
(3) The burden shall be on the obligor to establish a defense under subsection (2).
(4) If the obligor presents evidence which constitutes a full or partial defense, the court shall, on the request of the obligee, continue the hearing to permit further evidence relative to the defense to be adduced by either party. However, if the obligor acknowledges liability sufficient to entitle the obligee to income withholding, the court shall require income withholding for the payment of current support payments under the support order and of so much of any arrearage as is not in dispute, while continuing the hearing with respect to those matters still in dispute. The court shall determine promptly those matters still in dispute and, if appropriate, shall modify the withholding order to conform to that determination.