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Resident urges Livingston County to note guardian ad litem fees and family-court delays
Summary
Marion Township resident Steve Williams told the board he and his family faced a denied PPO, restricted parental access at school, and more than $10,000 in guardian ad litem fees since April 29; he urged the board to consider court backlogs and judge availability.
Steve Williams of Marion Township used both public-comment periods at the Nov. 10 Livingston County Board of Commissioners meeting to describe his family's experience in family-court proceedings and to urge awareness of court delays and guardian ad litem billing practices.
Williams told the board that a personal protection order against a man he identified as Forrest Putman had been denied in Livingston County after three days of testimony, and contrasted that outcome with a different result in nearby Oakland County. He said the court had restricted his wife's access to their child at school, and that the guardian ad litem appointed in the case had billed more than $10,000 since April 29. "There's now over $10,000 since April 29 when she was appointed," Williams said. He also alleged the GAL had submitted additional motions and that some statements in court filings were false; he said, "She could have checked that. She could have found out he was lying." Williams asked the board to keep judge availability and requests for visiting judges in mind when considering court operations.
Board members did not take formal action in response to the comments during the meeting. The remarks were made as part of the public-comment periods; no county staff response or directive to staff was recorded in the meeting transcript.
