Michigan Divorce Parenting Class: SMILE Program Requirements and What to Expect

If you're filing for divorce in Michigan and you have minor children, your county may require a parenting education course before the court will finalize your case. Some counties use the SMILE program (Start Making It Livable for Everyone), though the exact name and format varies by Friend of the Court office.

Skipping a county-required program — or not understanding the timeline — is one of the most common reasons final hearings get postponed.

What Is the SMILE Program?

SMILE is a court-ordered educational program designed to help divorcing parents understand how separation affects children. The curriculum covers communication strategies with your co-parent, age-appropriate ways to discuss the divorce with your children, and how to reduce conflict during transitions like custody exchanges.

The program is not therapy and is not couples counseling. You and your spouse attend separately. The content focuses on practical behavioral strategies — what to say (and not say) in front of your children, how to handle holidays and school events, and how to build a workable co-parenting relationship.

Michigan law doesn't prescribe a single statewide program. Each county's Friend of the Court office selects its own approved course and sets its own delivery format, which means the experience varies significantly depending on where you filed.

Format and Delivery Options

The delivery format depends entirely on your county's FOC office. Some common formats include:

• In-person group sessions — typically 2 to 4 hours at the courthouse or a community center
• Live Zoom sessions — many counties added this option during COVID and have kept it
• Self-paced online video courses — watch recorded modules on your own schedule

Contact your county's Friend of the Court office directly to find out which format they accept. Completing an online course from a different county or a third-party provider may not satisfy your local requirement.

Cost and Registration

Registration fees range from free to about $50 depending on the county. Some FOC offices waive the fee entirely for litigants who have been granted a fee waiver (SCAO Form MC 20) for their filing fees.

Register as early as possible after filing. Many counties have limited session availability, especially for in-person classes, and wait times of 2 to 4 weeks are common. Since you're already working within Michigan's 180-day waiting period for cases with children, early registration prevents this from becoming the bottleneck that delays your final hearing.

When You Need to Complete It

If your county requires the parenting class, confirm with the FOC when it must be completed; local procedures may require proof before the final hearing or Judgment of Divorce. There is no single statewide statutory deadline, but finishing it early in the 180-day waiting period can help avoid a local scheduling bottleneck.

If your county requires both parents to complete the program and your spouse refuses to attend or is unresponsive, ask the FOC how that affects scheduling and keep proof of your own completion.

What Completion Gets You

If the local program issues a certificate of completion, ask the FOC whether to file it separately or whether the FOC reports completion to the judge.

If your county requires proof of completion, the judge or clerk may need it before the Judgment of Divorce can be entered; confirm the local procedure.

How It Fits Into the Bigger Picture

The parenting class is one possible piece of the FOC process in counties that require it. In Michigan divorces involving minor children, the FOC is ordinarily involved, subject to the applicable limited opt-out procedure and court approval. Counties may also schedule a Facilitative and Information Gathering Conference (FIGC) — sometimes called an Early Intervention Conference or Conciliation Conference — where the FOC helps establish temporary orders for custody, parenting time, and child support.

The Michigan Divorce Filing Process Guide walks through each of these requirements in sequence, including county-specific parenting-program registration, the FOC conference process, and the 12 Best Interest factors that determine custody recommendations — so nothing falls through the cracks during the 180-day waiting period.

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