TRANSFER OF DOMESTIC MATTER TO ANOTHER COUNTY

House Bill 4637

Sponsor: Rep. Sue Tabor

Committee: Civil Law and the Judiciary

Complete to 4-30-01

A SUMMARY OF HOUSE BILL 4637 AS INTRODUCED 4-19-01

The bill would add a new section to the Friend of the Court Act to require a court to transfer a domestic relations matter to a different county office under certain circumstances, and to require the transferring office to send to the receiving office all records related to the transferred domestic relations matter.

If a recipient or payer of support filed a postjudgment motion to transfer a domestic relations matter to a different county office, the court would be required to transfer the matter if the court found all of the following:

·  The transfer was requested on the basis of the residence and convenience of the parties or on the basis of "another good cause consistent with the child's best interests";

·  Neither party resided in the county of current jurisdiction for at least six months before the motion was filed;

·  At least one party had resided in the county to which the transfer was requested for at least six months before the motion was filed; and

·  The county to which the transfer was requested was not contiguous to the county of current jurisdiction.

The court could charge a $20 fee for a motion filed under the bill, but would have to waive the filing fee for an indigent individual as provided in the Michigan Court Rules.

MCL 552.517f

 

Analyst: S. Ekstrom

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This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House staff for use by House members in their deliberations, and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.