Rule 3.809.Notice Following Involuntary Termination of Parental Rights
Subchapter 3.800 — Adoption · Last verified September 5, 2026
Full Text of Rule 3.809
Plain-English Summary
MCR 3.809 closes a gap that surprises parents. Losing parental rights does not end the duty to support the child. This rule makes the court say so, tells it who must hear it, and settles what happens when the message never gets through.
Who is told, and what they are told
Subrule (A) applies when the parental rights of a parent whose identity and whereabouts are known are involuntarily terminated. The court shall notify that parent, either orally or in a writing, that the obligation to support the child continues. The rule then names the only three events that bring the obligation to an end:
- a court of competent jurisdiction modifies or terminates the obligation;
- an order of adoption is entered; or
- the child is emancipated by operation of law.
Two features of the notice are worth marking. It may be oral, so the rule is satisfied by a statement from the bench as well as by a document. And it is aimed at a parent whose identity and whereabouts are known, which is what makes subrule (B) necessary.
When the parent cannot be found
Subrule (B) supplies an alternative channel. If the whereabouts of a parent are unknown, the notice required by subrule (A) may be provided in a notice of hearing provided pursuant to MCR 3.802(C). The verb is may, so this is a permitted route rather than a mandate, and it lets the required message ride along with a document already going out.
A missed notice changes nothing
Subrule (C) removes the consequences a reader might expect. Failure to provide the required notice does not affect the obligation imposed by law, and it does not otherwise establish a remedy or cause of action on behalf of the parent. The support duty exists because the law creates it, not because the court announced it. A parent who was never told still owes, and the omission gives the parent nothing to sue on.
Read together, the three subrules describe a duty of information with no enforcement hook. The court has a job to do, the rule tells it how to do that job when the parent has vanished, and the rule then makes clear that the parent's support obligation and the parent's remedies are unchanged by whether the job was done.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does child support continue after parental rights are terminated in Michigan?
The notice this rule requires says it does. Under subrule (A), the court tells the parent that the obligation to support the child will continue until a court of competent jurisdiction modifies or terminates the obligation, an order of adoption is entered, or the child is emancipated by operation of law.
What three events end the support obligation described in the notice?
Modification or termination of the obligation by a court of competent jurisdiction, entry of an order of adoption, or emancipation of the child by operation of law. Subrule (A) lists those three and no others.
Does the notice have to be in writing?
No. Subrule (A) allows the court to give the notice either orally or in a writing. A statement made on the record satisfies the rule as fully as a document does.
How is notice given when the parent cannot be located?
Subrule (B) provides that if the whereabouts of a parent are unknown, the notice required by subrule (A) may be provided in a notice of hearing provided pursuant to MCR 3.802(C).
What happens if the court never gives the notice?
Under subrule (C), failure to provide the required notice does not affect the obligation imposed by law and does not otherwise establish a remedy or cause of action on behalf of the parent. The omission neither cancels the support duty nor creates a claim for the parent.
Does this rule apply when a parent voluntarily releases parental rights?
Subrule (A) is written for a parent whose parental rights are involuntarily terminated. The rule speaks to that situation and does not address other paths by which a parent's rights end.