Background
Michael J. McCoy accumulated child-support arrears for four children. His youngest children, twins, turned 18 on July 11, 2010, and no support payments were made from at least August 2010 through January 1, 2024. In December 2023, the Friend of the Court sent an income-withholding order to McCoy’s employer, resulting in a payment on January 2, 2024.
McCoy moved on January 8, 2024, to terminate the withholding order, arguing that Michigan’s 10-year limitations period for enforcing a support order had expired on July 11, 2020. The trial court denied relief, reasoning that McCoy had to affirmatively invoke the limitations defense before the withheld payment and that the January 2024 payment revived the debt. It later denied reconsideration, reinstated withholding, and ordered the release of funds being held.
The Court’s Holding
The Michigan Court of Appeals reversed. It held that MCL 600.5809(4) does not require a support obligor to file a separate action or otherwise invoke the statute of limitations before the limitations period expires. The trial court improperly added prerequisites that do not appear in the statute.
The court also held that the January 2024 employer-withheld payment did not revive or extend the already-expired limitations period on this record. Unlike prior cases involving payments made voluntarily after expiration or payments made before expiration, the Friend of the Court presented no evidence that McCoy voluntarily paid, negotiated over the debt, consented to withholding, or otherwise acknowledged the debt after the limitations period expired. The court remanded for entry of an order terminating income withholding and directing repayment of the money obtained through it.
Key Takeaways
- Michigan’s limitations period for enforcing a child-support order runs for 10 years from the date the last support payment is due, regardless of whether that payment is made.
- An obligor need not file an affirmative lawsuit before the limitations period expires to obtain the statute’s protection.
- An employer-withheld payment obtained years after the limitations period expired does not, without evidence of acknowledgment or voluntary conduct by the obligor, revive the arrearage.
Why It Matters
The decision limits efforts to collect stale child-support arrears through income withholding after MCL 600.5809(4)’s 10-year period has expired. Courts may not condition the statute’s protection on procedural steps that the Legislature did not include.
The ruling also distinguishes between payments or conduct that may acknowledge and revive a debt and funds obtained through employer withholding without evidence that the obligor voluntarily recognized the obligation.