Michigan Guardianship and Child Support: Can a Guardian Collect?

You are feeding, clothing, and housing someone else's child, and the parents are not contributing. Michigan law does not automatically make the parents pay you — but it does give you a path to request child support as the child's guardian.

Yes, Guardians Can Request Child Support

When a probate court appoints you as guardian of a minor, the parents' financial obligation to support their child does not disappear. A guardianship suspends their custody rights, not their duty to provide for the child.

The court can order one or both parents to pay child support to the guardian. This is not guaranteed — the court has to make the order — but you have standing to request it as part of the guardianship proceeding or through a separate support action.

How to Get a Support Order

There are two main routes:

Through the probate court. When the court appoints you as guardian, you can ask the judge to include a child support provision in the guardianship order. Some probate courts handle this directly; others refer the support question to the Family Division of the Circuit Court, where the Friend of the Court (FOC) calculates support using the Michigan Child Support Formula.

Through the Friend of the Court. If the probate court does not address support at the guardianship hearing, you can open a child support case through the FOC office in the county where the child lives. The FOC uses both parents' income, the number of overnights, and other factors to calculate the guideline amount. As the child's legal custodian (through your guardianship order), you are the payee.

In either case, the court issues a formal support order that is enforceable through wage garnishment, tax intercepts, and other standard collection mechanisms.

What If the Parent Cannot Pay?

Many parents in kinship situations have limited or no income — they may be incarcerated, in treatment, unemployed, or receiving disability benefits. A court can still enter a support order, but the amount will reflect what the parent can actually pay under the Michigan Child Support Formula.

If a parent is incarcerated, Michigan courts may set support at a reduced amount or reserve the right to revisit when the parent is released. A zero-income parent may still be ordered to pay a minimum amount.

The support order exists even when collection is difficult. It establishes the legal obligation and allows enforcement when the parent's circumstances change.

Child Support vs. Public Benefits

Child support and public benefits are separate streams. As a guardian, you can receive both:

• Child-Only FIP grants through MDHHS — your income is not counted, only the child's
• Medicaid for the child
• Guardianship Assistance Program (GAP) if the child was previously in foster care
• Child support from one or both parents

Receiving child support does not automatically disqualify the child from public benefits, but the amounts may be counted as income in some benefit calculations. MDHHS can explain how support affects specific programs.

What Happens to Existing Support Orders

If there was already a child support order in place — from a divorce or paternity case — and you now have guardianship, you need that order redirected to you. The existing order likely names the other parent as the payee.

Contact the Friend of the Court or Circuit Court that administers the order and provide your Letters of Guardianship. Ask what request is required to update the payee; the guardianship order does not automatically change an existing support order.

Do not assume this happens automatically. Without a redirect, support payments may continue going to a parent who no longer has custody of the child.

Our Michigan Guardianship and Custody Court Process Guide covers the financial side of guardianship, including how to request child support, apply for public benefits, and keep the court informed about the child's financial situation through your annual PC 654 report.

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