Clinton County Friend-Court

After reading the other reviews from FOC, i can't believe it...and i thought i was the only one that had problems. I am a single mother also and i have raised my son by myself and the deadbeat dad of my son, has never seen his son nor does he want anything to do with him. My ex serves me with divorce papers which was fine, went to court, and he owed me $5000. that he stole from me and a whole $460. per month in child support and of course, my maiden name. Trying to get anything out of him is a joke. FOC called me and asked me if i had any information on him...how the hell would i know and why would i care. But they told me his address, which they would not even think of doing any other time. When they gave me his address, they told me i'd have to contact the sheriff's dept. in the county that he lived and see if they'd go over there and serve him with the warrant. Are you kidding me? I should be getting paid to do their work. Long story short, i contacted the sheriffs dept. by email and they said they had to verify all of this with FOC and serve him...well they did. I had money approximately within a week or so. I know everytime he gets a job, the support is automatically deducted. Now, as far as the $5000., after winning my case, they told me i'd have to retain another attorney and go after him again...damn! isn't this like double jeopardy on my part...why should i have to pay an attorney twice for a case i've already won? I've been overly nice to this guy, when he was supposedly having surgery and was going to be in rehab., i let it slide for awhile...and then...nothing. I received a whole $200. out of $5000. I was told by my attorney that after all of these years...there was interest gaining on all of this money that he owes me and then he sends me a copy of his bankruptcy papers thinking he can get out of it...my attorney was already one step ahead of him. When i was younger, i saw what women done to the men in my family, and i am normally for the guy...but there are a few out there that are real scum. I have seen over the yrs. how the courts treat the men, they don't care if they have a place to live, eat...nothing. Thats not fair, it's not fair for anyone, male or female...people just want to get that money and run. I know of so many women that get child support and buy drugs and other BS for their own and thats not right...it's called child support for a reason. I think after reading all of these reviews, FOC of St. John's needs a major overhaul...OMG! Good Luck everyone. more

So it's probally not everyday that you hear of the ""costodial"" parent not liking FOC. Most people believe that FOC works only for the costodial parent, well I'm here to tell you that simply is not true. more

I agree with the above. This is the worst FOC ever. They will show cause you for being $12.34 in arrears (yes, it happened). I have filed complaints against Terry Clark with the Michigan bar to no avail. This group is neither good for parents or children. If you are a male do not expect to see your kids much. It cost me $40k to get to see my son. This group is tyrannical. more

WORST EXPERIENCE EVER. We've been troubled w/ this court for some 20 years now. This is my first time message. We've dealt w/ Linda Fox, Brandy Lowe, Terry Clark, Terri Paradise, and Marge Tait to name a few at The Clinton County Friend of The Court. We have numerous friends that use other county courts that can't believe the horrific mistakes, cost, stress, & most of all the treatment we've received by our court. Do your children, yourself, the other parent, your health, your pocket book, your family, your friends, your credit, your future and the state a favor, by not putting your children in the system w/ this court EVER. The employees aren't knowledgable, friendly or helpful for that matter. The effrontery of the court using the name ""friend of the court"" is disgusting. They no longer provide mediators or referees to assist parents in reaching agreements. This court has little to offer in the way of support. The FOC is a year behind in dropping children off when they reach their emancipation date. Therefore putting the paying parent in arrears after the child is approximately 20- 21 years of age. We've received complete strangers court documents w/ their case numbers & social security #'s on them in the mail. We've also received our own court doc.s w/ someone elses case # on them. This is unacceptable. The Clinton Cnty FOC is creating Dead Beat Dad's. This court is overtly discriminating against the male gender. This court is suppressing fathers by treating them poorly, assuming they are all dead beats. I would rate this court less than recommended for mother or father. I do fear retribution for this message but if more parents read this & consider it before submitting themselves to future onslaught of problems by doing so, it will have been worth it. We've hired several attorneys, all of which have warned us up front that cutting through all the ""red tape"" in this county is difficult. PLEASE PARENTS READ THIS BEFORE PUTTING YOUR CHILD(REN) IN THIS COURT. more