Family Cases

Family cases include divorce, custody, support, paternity, and related cases. All cases of this kind are filed with the Clerk of the Circuit Court. All family cases involving children are handled through the Friend of the Court.

Attorneys

Individuals interested in hiring an attorney who works in Livingston County can visit the Livingston County Bar Association or check other resources.

Parties who are representing themselves are required to follow all of the rules of the Court. For a list of legal resources, including information for self-represented litigants, see our Legal Resources page.

Mediation

In mediation, the parties and (optionally) their attorneys, meet with a trained neutral mediator. The purpose of mediation is to reach an agreement on all of the issues in a case.

See our Alternative Dispute Resolution page for more information about mediation.

Judges

When a Court case is filed, the case is assigned to a Judge. Some Judges have packets of materials that are handed out at filing, and those packets may contain dates for future court appearances and dates by which certain steps in the case are expected to be completed. See each Judge’s profile page for filing packet information.

Post-Judgment

Parties to family law cases may need to come back to Court after the final Judgment is entered. They may need to have decisions made regarding children, including custody and related issued until children reach age 18 and child support enforcement even beyond children reaching age 18. They may need the Court to interpret or enforce other provisions of their Judgment. See Objections to Domestic Orders for information about objections.