“The family court concept was an idea whose time
had come.”
Judge Hallmark, who currently serves as Oakland
County’s Chief Probate Pro Tem Judge, played an integral part in developing and
launching the family division during that time, when she served as chairperson
of the State Bar’s Family Law Section.
Interest in the creation of a family division had
existed for several decades within the Family Law Section, under which many
proposals were written, and judges and legislators were lobbied over the years
for their support.
Members of the Family Law Section looked at
several other states with family divisions, particularly New Jersey, which was
the largest state with a family division, at the time. In New Jersey, the family division was
attached to the highest level trial court.
The effort in Michigan, however, did not gain
traction until 1995, when Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice James H.
Brickley called on the Legislature to restructure the court system. He proposed a merging of trial and probate
courts into a single court of general jurisdiction with separate divisions
based on subject matter: family; civil; criminal; and probate.
That same year, state legislation was introduced
by Rep. Michael Nye, who was then a practicing family law attorney, according
to a Bar Journal article (“A History of Michigan’s Family Court” by Scott Bassett, July 2017).
The legislation went through a long process of
meetings and compromises before the final version passed the Legislature.
On September 30, 1996, Gov. John Engler signed the
legislation into law that created the family division of the circuit court
system in Michigan. The law, Public Act
388 of 1996, took effect the following year.
The new law gave the family division jurisdiction
over the following:
- Divorce actions (including alimony, property division, child support, and custody);
- Actions under the Child Custody Act;
- Adoptions;
- Cases involving children incapable of adoption;
- Name changes;
- Juvenile cases;
- Cases involving the status and emancipation of minors;
- Paternity actions;
- Interstate support and income withholding actions;
- Cases involving parental consent for abortions performed on unemancipated minors; and,
- Personal protection orders.
The family division also was given ancillary
jurisdiction over cases involving guardians and conservators, and cases
involving treatment, or guardianship, of mentally ill or developmentally
disabled person under the mental health code.
The term “one judge, one family” came to serve as
the foundation of the family division. It encapsulates the goal of achieving
consistency for families faced with actions in more than one court, thereby
eliminating duplication and increasing efficiency in the courts.
The new law mandated that every
circuit court in Michigan create a family division by January 1, 1998, which
required the courts to submit their operating plans to the Supreme Court by
July 1, 1997.
The plans were formulated by circuit and probate chief judges for
approval by the State Court Administrative Office, under the Supreme Court. SCAO was charged with developing a plan for
any court that failed to submit one on time.
Finally, on January 1, 1998, Michigan became the ninth—and
largest—state in the nation to adopt a family court model (the District of
Columbia also had a family court model at the time). According to the National Center for State
Courts website, 32 states and the District of Columbia now have family court
systems.
The Michigan Supreme Court extends kudos to all of the judges who
have served and helped thousands of families statewide.
Happy Birthday, Family Division!