US Laws, Codes, Statutes & Cases

Sec. 3a.

(1) For a friend of the court case, as of January 1 and July 1 of each year, a surcharge shall 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. A surcharge under this subsection shall not be added to support ordered under the paternity act, 1956 PA 205, MCL 722.711 to 722.730, for the time period to the date of the support order.

(2) A surcharge as computed in 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 for any of the following:

(a) Beginning on July 1, 2005, in cases in which the friend of the court is collecting on a current child support obligation, the payer has paid 90% or more of the most recent semiannual obligation during the semiannual cycle.

(b) For a support order entered after the effective date of the amendatory act that added this subsection, for any period of time a support order did not exist when support is later ordered for that period.

(c) The surcharge is waived or abated under a court order under section 3d.

(4) The surcharge 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.