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Common Questions about Responding to a Motion Regarding Parenting Time
Contents
These are common questions about responding to a motion regarding parenting time.
Questions about Going to Court in a Parenting Time Case
Either parent can file a motion to change parenting time in an existing family law case. There must already be a parenting time order or judgment in the case. The case could be a divorce, separate maintenance, custody, paternity, or family support case.
Read the papers carefully
It is important to understand what the other party is asking for. It is also important to know the date, time, and place of the court hearing.
Pay attention to deadlines
There are strict deadlines in court cases. If you decide to file a Response to the Motion Regarding Custody or Parenting Time, file it with the court at least 3 days before the hearing. You must mail it to the other party at least five days before the hearing, or give it to them in person at least three days before the hearing.
Decide how you want to respond
If the other parent files a Motion Regarding Custody or Parenting Time, you can choose to do nothing. If you do nothing, the judge may change the court order without any input from you.
This may be fine if you agree with the other parent’s proposed change. But you should consider filing a response and attending the hearing if you want to give input about custody or parenting time. If the custody or parenting time order changes, it may also affect child support. Even if you don’t file a response, you can still participate in the court hearing.
You can use our Do-It-Yourself Response to Motion to Change Parenting Time tool to create the forms you need to respond.
Once you have your response form, date and sign it. Make five copies. Take the original and copies to the clerk’s office. The court clerk will keep the original for the court file and one copy for the Friend of the Court. The clerk will return the remaining copies to you. Mail the other parent a copy. If the other parent has a lawyer, mail the response to the lawyer instead.
On the remaining copies of the response, complete the Certificate of Mailing section. Return to the court clerk’s office and file two copies. Keep the other copy for your own records.
If you are a person with a disability and have to go to court, you can ask the court to provide you with an accommodation so you can fully participate in the court activity.
To make your request, use the Do-It-Yourself Request for Accommodations tool and mail or deliver the form to the court administrator in the court where the activity will take place.
You should mail or deliver your Request for Accommodations as early as possible so the court can consider it and arrange for the accommodation(s) if it grants your request. If you don’t file your request before the court activity starts, but the activity is on-going (like a hearing that lasts more than a day), file your request as soon as you can.
Examples of accommodations that may be available are:
- Interpreter for people who are deaf (such as a sign language interpreter)
- Assistive listening device
- Handicap accessibility (such as use of a service animal)
- Other accommodations depending on your need
Each court has an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Coordinator. You can find your court’s ADA Coordinator using the Directories page of the Michigan Courts One Court of Justice website.
Questions about How Parenting Time Is Decided
If your order has a specific parenting time schedule, the judge must approve a change in the schedule even when the other parent agrees with the change. In this situation, you can ask the judge to sign a proposed order without filing a motion. You can use the Do-It-Yourself Motion to Change Parenting Time tool to create the proposed order you need. There is no court hearing unless the judge requests one.
If your current order is for reasonable parenting time (without a specific schedule) and the other parent agrees to change parenting time, you do not have to file anything with the court. However, you can always file a Motion to Change Parenting Time if you want to get a court order with a specific schedule.
Yes. Children have the legal right to be financially supported by both parents. A parent can’t avoid paying child support by giving up custody or parenting time rights.
Even if you voluntarily gave up your parental rights, or if your parental rights were involuntarily terminated, it is possible that you would still be required to pay child support.
Changing custody or parenting time can be complicated if a child's parent is on active military duty. It may be difficult to find and serve papers on a service member stationed overseas. There are also state and federal laws that give people on active duty extra protections in civil cases.
If a parent is deployed on military duty when the motion to change custody or parenting time is filed, the judge may stay (halt) the proceeding if either parent asks.
Generally, while a parent is deployed, a judge may not change custody or parenting time from what it was at the date of deployment. The only exception is when the judge finds there is clear and convincing evidence that it is in the child’s best interests to change custody or parenting time. In this case, the judge can enter a temporary order.
If the judge signs a temporary order, the deployed parent must notify the court within 30 days of when the deployment ends. The judge will then reinstate the parenting time order that was in effect just before the deployment.
The other parent may file a motion to change custody or parenting time after the deployed parent returns. The judge cannot consider a parent’s absence due to deployment when weighing the best interests of a child.
If you are filing to change custody or parenting time and the child’s other parent is on active military duty, you may want to hire a lawyer. Use the Guide to Legal Help to find lawyers and legal services in your area.
Domestic relations mediation is a process that the court can use to help resolve contested issues in a family law case. The mediator is a neutral person who helps you and the other party work out an agreement in your case. You could be referred to mediation if you agree to it or if the judge orders it. You and the other party will pay the mediator a fee.
Some cases are not appropriate for mediation. Your case might be excused from mediation for any of the following reasons:
- You or the other party have a personal protection order against the other
- Your children have been abused or neglected
- There has been domestic violence in your relationship, unless you both have attorneys at the mediation sessions
- You or the other party is unable to negotiate for themselves at the mediation, unless you both have attorneys at the mediation sessions
- There is reason to believe that the health or safety of one or both of you will be put at risk by mediation
The Friend of the Court (FOC) is part of the family division of the circuit court. The FOC helps the court in cases involving custody, parenting time, and child support. Some of the duties the FOC performs are:
- Investigating and issuing recommendations about custody, parenting time, and child support
- Helping the parties settle disputes during and after their case
- Providing enforcement services on existing custody, parenting time, and support orders
To learn more, read Friend of the Court Overview.
If a Friend of the Court (FOC) referee issues a recommendation in your case and you do not file an objection within 21 days after you are served, the recommendation can become an order. However, the judge is not bound by a FOC recommendation and can choose not to make it an order.
You may be able to opt out of FOC services in your case if both you and the other party agree to opt out.
To learn more, read Friend of the Court Overview.
No. Parenting time can't be limited to enforce child support.
Questions about Domestic Violence and Parenting Time
Yes. Domestic violence is serious. It is one of 12 factors the judge must consider when making custody and parenting time decisions. However, the judge might not necessarily give special weight to the domestic violence factor.
If your child's other parent has abused you, it may be a good idea to hire a lawyer. If you have low income, you may qualify for free legal services. Whether you have low income or not, use the Guide to Legal Help to find lawyers and legal services in your area.
Yes. Domestic violence is one of 12 factors the judge must consider when making custody and parenting time decisions. This is true even if:
- The violence was not directed at the children; and
- The children did not witness the abuse.
Children can be harmed by domestic violence even if it’s not directed against them.
The court can consider domestic violence even if your children didn’t witness it.
If the other party in your case has a court order giving them parenting time, you must follow the order. You must do this unless:
- The judge changes the order, or
- Another court order prohibits parenting time (such as a Personal Protection Order)
You can prepare a motion asking the judge to change parenting time using the Do-It-Yourself Motion to Change Parenting Time tool. You can prepare a Petition for Personal Protection Order using our Do-It-Yourself Personal Protection Order (PPO) tool.
Supervised parenting time is where children spend time with a parent, supervised by another adult. A judge may order supervised parenting time if a parent is not responsible or is a risk to the children.
The supervisor could be a grandparent, other relative, friend, or other court-appointed supervisor. If a parent is a threat or danger to the other parent but not to the children, a judge may still order supervised parenting time. Or, a judge may allow unsupervised parenting time but require that pick-up and drop-off be supervised or done by a third party.
Your children most likely have a bond with their other parent. This may be true even if the other parent has been violent towards you. Think about what type of parenting time is best under all of the circumstances – not just based on how your children feel.
If there is a court order for unsupervised parenting time, you must follow it. You must do this unless the judge changes it or another court order prohibits it. If you think unsupervised visitation isn’t safe, consider talking to a lawyer.
If you need a lawyer and have low income, you may qualify for free legal help. You can use the Guide to Legal Help to look for legal help in your area. Your local domestic violence shelter may also be able to help you find a lawyer.