THE COURTS
WASHINGTON COUNTY
Amendment to Local Rules of Support L-216.1 et seq.; No. 9600001
[26 Pa.B. 587]
Order And Now, this 22 day of January, 1996; It is Hereby Ordered that the above-stated Local Rules be amended as follows. The prior listed rules are rescinded upon the effective date of these amendments.
These amendments shall be effective 30 days after publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
THOMAS D. GLADDEN,
President Judge
SUPPORT L-216-1. Continuances.
A. Continuances of any matter scheduled before either a Conference Officer or a Hearing Officer may only be granted as follows:
1. A conference or hearing may be continued through the Domestic Relations Section without an order of court if a written request for continuance is made at least 15 (fifteen) days prior to the conference or hearing. This request for continuance must be accompanied by a written consent from both parties to the continuance. This written verification must be received by the Domestic Relations Section at least 15 (fifteen) days prior to the scheduled hearing or conference. The party requesting the continuance is responsible to notify all interested parties of the request for continuance. The Domestic Relations Section shall only be responsible to notify the parties of the new date and time of the conference or hearing. All consents to continuances should be sent to the attention of the Continuance Department of the Domestic Relations Section for prompt processing of the parties request. All written requests for continuances under this section must be accompanied by the fee imposed by Rule L-1910.4 or the hearings shall not be rescheduled.
2. Requests for continuance of any conference or hearing made within fourteen (14) days of the scheduled conference or hearing may be granted only by order of court.
B. A fee shall be charged for all continuances as prescribed by Rule L-1910.4.
L-411-2. Non-Appearance by Parties.
A. If a moving party in a non-AFDC case, who has been properly served with notice, does not appear at a conference and/or a hearing, the relief requested shall be denied and in the case of an initial complaint for support, the complaint shall be dismissed.
B. If a responding party, who has been properly served with notice, does not appear at a conference and/or a hearing, the matter shall be referred to the Hearing Officer who may proceed with the hearing and make a recommendation to the Court with respect to the entry of an order for support.
C. If a plaintiff in an AFDC case, who has been properly served with notice, does not appear at a conference and/or a hearing, the hearing shall be rescheduled by the Domestic Relations Section and the failure of the plaintiff to appear shall be reported to the Department of Public Welfare for intervention.
L-1012-1. Entry of Appearance.
All counsel shall file a Praecipe for Appearance with the Domestic Relations Section Docket Clerk which includes the attorney's name, business address, telephone number and Supreme Court identification number. All Praecipes for Appearance must either be typed or legibly printed on forms available from the Domestic Relations Section. Use of the Domestic Relations Section form shall not be mandatory. If counsel fails to enter their appearance as prescribed by this Rule, he or she shall not be entitled to receive copies of orders, notices or other record matters.
L-1910-4. Fees.
A. The Domestic Relations Section, in addition to any other fees imposed by these rules, shall impose and collect filing and service fees as prescribed by administrative order, as amended.
B. Any fee imposed by this Rule shall not be collected from a party otherwise obligated by these rules to pay such a fee in the following circumstances:
1. Where the party has been granted leave by the Court to proceed in forma pauperis;
2. Where the Hearing Officer or the Court finds that the party is financially unable to pay;
3. Where the party is a recipient of cash assistance from the Department of Public Welfare; or,
4. Where the Court otherwise directs.
L-1910.10-1. Hearing Procedure.
A. Alternative hearing procedure of Pa.R.C.P. 1910.12 is adopted in all civil actions or proceedings brought in the Court of Common Pleas of Washington County to enforce a duty of support except:
1. Any action for support of a child born out of wedlock where there has not been an adjudication of paternity.
2. Contempt proceedings pursuant to Pa.R.C.P. 1910.21.
B. The office conference shall be conducted by a person known as a ''Conference Officer''. The hearing shall be conducted by a person known as a ''Hearing Officer''.
L-1910.10-2. Hearing Procedure.
A. If the parties to a support action have filed a complaint in divorce in which a claim is raised for alimony pendente lite, the Hearing Officer may hear the alimony pendente lite claim at the request of either party, provided, however, both that a Master in divorce has been appointed and the Master's fee has been paid to the Prothonotary. Counsel shall provide documentary evidence of this appointment and payment to the support Hearing Officer.
B. If the Hearing Officer proceeds under this Rule and hears a claim for alimony pendente lite, either the plaintiff or plaintiff's counsel shall file with the Domestic Relations Docket Clerk a copy of the complaint in divorce raising the issue of alimony pendente lite within three (3) days of the hearing before the Hearing Officer. If counsel fail to file a copy of the complaint in divorce as provided by this Rule the written recommendation of the Hearing Officer shall not be issued until a copy of the complaint is properly filed.
L-1910.11(c). Exhibits.
A. Prior to the conference before the Conference Officer, counsel for the parties to support actions shall exchange copies of all exhibits which will be used at the conference. In addition, copies of the exhibits shall be provided for the Conference Officer and appropriately marked.
B. If the issue of support cannot be resolved before the Conference Officer, copies of marked exhibits shall also be provided for the Hearing Officer at the time of the hearing. All exhibits which are admitted by the Hearing Officer shall become part of the Hearing Officer's Report to the Court, which report will be filed with the Domestic Relations Section Docket Clerk.
L-1910.12-1. Office Conference.
A. A filing fee as prescribed by Rule L-1910.4 shall be charged for all support actions entered and processed through the Washington County Domestic Relations Section. This fee shall be due and payable at the time of the hearing on the complaint or petition. If an agreement and order of support is entered prior to an initial hearing, this fee is due and payable at the time such agreement or order is filed with the Domestic Relations Section. This fee shall be paid as follows:
1. Shared equally by the plaintiff and defendant in all non-welfare actions for support;
2. Paid in full by the defendant in all welfare actions for support and non-welfare actions where the plaintiff is the County of Washington or a governmental or administrative agency; or,
3. Not assessed in matters where the party responsible for the payment of the fee has been found by the Hearing Officer or the Court to be indigent or has been permitted to proceed in forma pauperis.
L-1910.12-1-1. Exceptions.
A. Where the parties to a support matter were not given a copy of the recommendation of the Hearing Officer at the conclusion of the hearing, and notice of the recommendation is given by mail to the parties and/or counsel of record, 3 days shall be added to the date appearing on the written recommendation of the Hearing Officer to the 10 day filing period for exceptions.
B. All exceptions must be in writing and shall be filed with the Domestic Relations Docket Clerk. Any party filing exceptions must provide an original and two (2) copies to the Docket Clerk.
C. The excepting party shall serve opposing counsel or the opposing party who is unrepresented with copies of the exceptions by the end of the next business day following the filing of the exceptions.
D. Any party filing exceptions shall order from the court reporter the transcript of testimony unless the parties stipulate to the contrary or unless the exceptions are not based on the testimony contained in the record. Any party ordering the transcript shall pay a deposit of $50.00 with the court reporter before such transcript is typed. The deposit will be applied toward the total cost of the transcript. The Domestic Relations Judge will not be provided with a copy of such transcript unless the same has been ordered and paid for by a party or counsel.
E. Exceptions will be assigned to the Domestic Relations Judge who will notify the parties of the date and time for argument.
F. The party filing exceptions must file a brief no later than thirteen (13) days prior to the date set for argument and serve a copy on opposing counsel or the opposing unrepresented party. The opposing party must file a response brief no later than five (5) days prior to the date set for argument. The original and one (1) copy of the brief must be filed with the Domestic Relations Docketing Division.
G. Each exception shall set forth a separate objection precisely and without discussion. Issues not raised by a party in exceptions are deemed to be waived.
L-1910.17-1. Administrative Service Fee.
An administrative service fee of $25.00 annually shall be charged to the defendant in a support action processed through the Washington County Domestic Relations Section. This fee shall be required on any case in which the defendant is under an order of support of at least $50.00 per month, in either a single or multiple action. This fee shall be paid by the defendant only once yearly regardless of the number of cases involved. Only those defendants who have an active case as of April 15 of that year will be charged this fee. Payment shall be due within 45 days of the date of the mailing of the fee notice. This fee shall be in addition to the amount of support which the defendant is ordered to pay.
L-1910.17-2. Consent Support Orders.
A. All consent support orders shall be prepared on the Agreement and Order form provided by the Domestic Relations Section. Consent support orders prepared on forms other than the current form shall not be accepted for filing by the Domestic Relations Section.
B. The order must be clear and concise and must adhere to both procedural and substantive statutory and case law requirements.
C. If the case in question has not been initiated through the Domestic Relations Section, the Agreement and Order form must be accompanied by a completed intake information form provided by the Domestic Relations Section.
D. In existing support cases in which support is being paid through the Domestic Relations Section and a Marriage Settlement Agreement is signed subsequent to the Domestic Relations Section order which modifies the support obligation, counsel for either party must file a motion with the Court to incorporate the Marriage Settlement Agreement into a Domestic Relations Order. The motion must stipulate that the parties agree to have all payments made through the Domestic Relations Section.
E. In existing support cases in which support is being paid through the Domestic Relations Section and a subsequent stipulation is entered into between the parties before the Divorce Master which modifies the support obligation, counsel for either party must file said stipulation with the Domestic Relations Section. Upon the filing of this stipulation with the Domestic Relations Section, an Order will be drafted by the Domestic Relations Section and forwarded to the Court for incorporation. The stipulation must provide that the parties agree to have all payments made through the Domestic Relations Section.
L-1910.19-1. Support Order Modification.
A filing fee as set forth in Rule L-1910.4 shall be charged for all petitions to modify an order of support. This fee shall be assessed against the party filing the petition to modify, except as provided in Rule L-1910.4. The petitioner shall file the original and three (3) copies of the petition with the Domestic Relations Section Docket Clerk. A petition for modification shall not be accepted without the filing fee and required copies.
L-1920.4. Service.
Service of all Complaints and petitions filed in the Domestic Relations Section shall be in accordance with the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure, as amended.
L-1910.22. Attachment of Income.
Wage attachments shall be issued by the Domestic Relations Section pursuant to the prevailing Pennsylvania law and procedure as specified in the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure, as amended.
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 96-175. Filed for public inspection February 9, 1996, 9:00 a.m.]
No part of the information on this site may be reproduced for profit or sold for profit.This material has been drawn directly from the official Pennsylvania Bulletin full text database. Due to the limitations of HTML or differences in display capabilities of different browsers, this version may differ slightly from the official printed version.
