In 1989, the Michigan Legislature enacted a law that required courts to set child support according to the Michigan Child Support Formula (MCSF). Deviations are permitted only in certain, narrowly defined circumstances, which means the MCSF is applied in most cases. The MCSF provides two different formulas for calculating child support. The shared economic responsibility formula presumes that both parents are responsible for meeting the child’s financial needs when the child is with each parent at least 128 overnights out of the year. The primary financial responsibility formula presumes one parent pays most of the costs associated with caring for and raising the child and is applied when one parent has the child with him or her less than 128 overnights per year.
Unfortunately, legislating to meet the needs of children and families is an imperfect science and the two- formula method has created as many problems as it has solved. Whether a payer has the children with him or her 127 or 128 overnights can make a tremendous difference in the child support amount dictated by the formula. For instance, the difference between 127 and 128 overnights where both parents are earning $50,000 per year can be as much as $256 per month - $3,072 per year! This “cliff” has given rise to all sorts of unnecessary custody disputes because, even for the most well-intentioned parents, a battle over that extra day may be financially worthwhile or even necessary.
Beginning October 1, 2008, a new Michigan Child Support Formula will go into effect. One formula will be used for all parenting time and custody arrangements, taking into account the parties’ incomes and the amount of time a child spends with each party. There will be no cliff. Instead, the support amount will decrease gradually in correlation with increases in the payer’s parenting time. Family law attorneys welcome this long-overdue change which, hopefully, will eliminate the financial incentive for parents to engage in unnecessary custody disputes.
