THE COURTS
PART III. FAMILY COURT RULES
[231 PA. CODE PART III]
Rules Relating to Domestic Relations Matters; Recommendation 55
[30 Pa.B. 4350] The Domestic Relations Procedural Rules Committee proposes the following new rules relating to family law matters and the operation of family courts. The Committee solicits comments and suggestions from all interested persons prior to submission of these proposed rules to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.
Written comments relating to the proposed rules must be received no later than Friday, December 1, 2000 and must be directed to:
Patricia A. Miles, Counsel
Domestic Relations Procedural Rules Committee
5035 Ritter Road, Suite 700
Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania 17055
FAX (717) 795-2116
E-mail patricia.miles@supreme.court.state.pa.usThe notes and explanatory comments which appear in connection with the proposed rules have been inserted by the Committee for the convenience of those using the rules. They will not constitute part of the rules and will not officially be adopted or promulgated by the Supreme Court.
Recommendation 55
Family Court Rules Introduction
More citizens of this commonwealth will come into contact with our courts as a result of a family law matter than any other type of legal action. Several years ago, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court began to examine how courts could better serve the needs of children and families who become involved with the justice system as a result of divorce or other family problems.
In 1997, Supreme Court Justice Sandra Schultz Newman and Superior Court Judge Kate Ford Elliott co-chaired a conference on family court reform which was co-sponsored by the Pennsylvania Bar Association's Commission on Women in the Profession and the Family Law Section. As an outgrowth of that conference, the Task Force on Family Court Reform was created. In addition to the conference sponsors, the task force also included members of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. The charge of the task force was to study problems and innovations in family court procedures in Pennsylvania and to make specific recommendations for reform. The task force surveyed each judicial district in the commonwealth, including personal contacts with family court judges and administrators to obtain an understanding of flaws in the system, as well as the efforts being made in individual judicial districts to improve the methods of handling family law cases. In addition, the task force studied models in place in other jurisdictions outside the commonwealth. The preliminary report and recommendation of the task force was issued in the summer of 1999.
At the same time, the Children's Rights Committee of the Pennsylvania Bar Association conducted its own survey of citizens who used the family court system to learn what they thought of their experiences and how to improve the process. That committee's report was also considered by the task force in making its recommendations.
In the meantime, the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee Domestic Relations Task Force, chaired by Representative Lita Cohen, began its examination of family court reform, with its findings submitted in late 1998. Many of the judges, masters and lawyers who testified at Judiciary Committee hearings are the same individuals who participated on the Family Court Reform Task Force and who served or now serve on the Supreme Court Domestic Relations Procedural Rules Committee.
The foregoing demonstrates that there has been a great deal of interest in family court reform by members of our bench, bar and legislature. A tremendous amount of effort was expended in obtaining and studying information from many sources. Now the reports and recommendations have been issued and it is time to effectuate change.
As the recommendations for change primarily affect procedure, the most appropriate and expeditious, as well as least expensive, means of accomplishing family court reform is through promulgation of procedural rules by the Supreme Court. The rules that will be promulgated over time will attempt to satisfy the recommendations of those who have studied our family court system in depth. They will incorporate several recommendations common to all of the reports studied:
1. One Judge or One Team per Family. The goal of eliminating fragmentation in the system is best served by consistency in adjudication units. The assignment of one master and/or one judge and/or one team to a family prevents litigants from having to present similar or related facts to different triers of fact in different proceedings. If a team approach is used, it should be supervised by the assigned judge or master.
2. Consolidated Intake. The goal is to create a system that is ''user-friendly''. Each district should establish one location for the filing of all family law matters.
3. Case Management and Early Intervention. The goal of assuring that matters move through the system expeditiously requires case management. One individual or team should be responsible for, among other things, assigning priorities based on the family's needs, screening for domestic violence and making appropriate referrals. It is important that the case manager or team review the pleadings and meet with the parties early in the process to determine the best course of action in light of the particular circumstances of the case.
4. Timely Outcomes. While each case will not be resolved in the same amount of time, a vital goal of family court reform is to assure timely resolution of interim matters as well as the final disposition. The case manager or team should set and enforce (through the supervising judge or master) time limits for pleadings, discovery, conferences and hearings. Triers of fact also must be accountable for issuing prompt decisions and opinions.
5. Consolidated Proceedings. To reduce the time and expense to the family and to the court, whenever possible, related issues should be heard together.
6. Continuous Trials. The goal is to treat parties in family law matters the same as litigants in any other matters. Cases involving custody of children, the financial support of a spouse and children, protection against violence and the dissolution of a marriage are too important to be heard piecemeal in available time slots between criminal and other civil cases. The emotional and financial welfare of families and children, as well as judicial economy, requires that hearings and trials in family law matters be heard, if not on continuous days until the case is fully presented, then at least within a short and specified time frame.
7. Training for Judges, Masters and Other Family Court Personnel. Skillful handling of family court matters requires not only knowledge of the statutes, rules and case law, but also the psychological and sociological backdrop against which many family law matters present themselves. To assure that those individuals managing the cases, as well as those adjudicating the cases, have the knowledge necessary to make the best decisions for children and families, ongoing training in the form of a standard statewide curriculum should be required.
8. Other Recommended Programs.
a. Resource and Referral Office. One place a person can visit or call to obtain information about how family court works, a contact person for his or her case, referrals to social services etc.
b. Space for Children in the Courthouse. Appropriately staffed and appointed facility to leave children while parents are on court business and to provide a place for supervised visitation when ordered by the court in custody cases.
c. Mediation Programs.
d. Seminars/Programs for Separating Families and for Children of Those Families.
e. Court-Connected Custody Evaluations and Home Studies.
f. Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Program.
While few would disagree that, in theory, the goals set forth above are laudable, achieving them will not be easy. Change is difficult and often meets with resistance. To ease the process, the following rules address only a few of the goals listed above.
The following initial Family Court Rules focus on consolidating and managing family law matters. They will not require a tremendous amount of new resources, but rather can be accomplished in most jurisdictions by a restructuring and reallocation of existing resources and personnel.
Later rules will address those programs listed in paragraph 8 above which, while highly desirable, are not as essential to the major goals of family court reform. These programs already are established in some jurisdictions.
The last phase of family court reform will be to reorganize and renumber the rules of civil procedure relating to family matters and bring them under the Family Court Rules. Throughout the process of family court reform, constructive comments and suggestions from the bench, bar, court administration and the public are welcome.
DAVID RASNER, ESQ.,
Chair
TITLE 231--RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE
PART III. FAMILY COURT RULES
GENERAL RULES Rule 101. Actions Governed by Family Court Rules.
(a) Divorce, Annulment, Dissolution of Marriage.
(1) Equitable Distribution.
(2) Alimony/Alimony Pendente Lite.
(3) Counsel Fees, Costs and Expenses.
(4) Special Relief.
(b) Child Custody.
(1) Legal Custody.
(2) Physical Custody.
(3) Partial Custody/Visitation.
(c) Support.
(1) Child Support.
(2) Spousal Support.
(3) Modification and Enforcement.
(d) Paternity.
(e) Protection From Abuse.
Rule 102. Commencement of Action.
(a) Centralized Filing.
(1) Each judicial district shall establish a Family Court Filing Unit either as a separate and distinct office of the district's family court division, or as a separate and distinct unit of the prothonotary's or court administrator's office. All actions governed by these Family Court Rules shall be commenced by a filing in the Family Court Filing Unit.
(2) Within ten days of the commencement of any action under these Family Court Rules, the Family Court Filing Unit shall assign the case to a case manager or case management team under the supervision of a master or judge of the judicial district. If either party initiates any other actions governed by these Family Court Rules, the same case manager or case management team shall be assigned.
(b) Case Management.
(1) Within ten days of the assignment of a matter to the case manager or case management team, the case manager or team shall review the pleading and schedule a meeting with the parties to be held as soon as possible after service of the pleading.
(2) At the first case management meeting with the parties and counsel, if represented, the case manager or case management team shall:
(i) determine if other actions under these Family Court Rules are necessary or appropriate;
(ii) screen for allegations of domestic violence;
(iii) determine if other government or community agencies are involved with the family (i.e. Children and Youth, Adult or Juvenile Probation, Mental Health and Retardation etc.);
(iv) advise the parties of community services and resources, including alternate dispute resolution;
(v) in a support matter, schedule the conference;
(vi) in a custody case, schedule the mediation orientation session or custody conciliation, depending upon the jurisdiction's practice;
(3) Within five days of the first case management meeting, the judge supervising the case shall enter and serve upon the parties and their counsel, an order:
(i) setting forth any agreements or stipulations reached by the parties;
(ii) establishing a discovery schedule;
(iii) scheduling a support conference, if appropriate;
(iv) scheduling a custody conciliation or mediation, if appropriate;
(v) establishing filing dates for inventories, income and expense statements and parenting plans;
(vi) setting the date for the next case management meeting which shall occur, except for good cause shown, not more than 90 days after the first meeting.
Rule 103. Consolidation of Family Court Matters.
(a) General Rule. To the extent it is practical and appropriate, two or more actions under these Family Court Rules involving the same parties and common questions of law and/or fact shall be consolidated for hearing or trial.
(b) Trial Continuity. Whenever possible, trials before a judge or a master shall be scheduled to be heard on consecutive days. If not held on consecutive days, then the trial shall be concluded within 45 days of the date of the commencement of the trial.
(c) Prompt Decisions. Except for good cause shown and reflected upon the record, in any matter brought under these Family Court Rules, a decision by a conference officer, master or judge shall issue not later than 30 days after the conference, hearing or trial concludes.
Rule 104. Continuing Education for Family Court Judges and Personnel.
(a) Program Development. The Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts (AOPC) shall develop or provide courses of instruction that include, at a minimum, the following topics:
(1) The substantive law and procedural aspects of the areas of law governed by these Family Court Rules;
(2) Domestic violence;
(3) Child development;
(4) Family dynamics;
(5) Addictions and treatments;
(6) Asset valuation;
(7) Community resources.
(b) Initial Training. Each judge, master and case manager assigned to cases governed by these Family Court Rules shall successfully complete the coursework developed by the AOPC.
(c) Continuing Education. Each judge, master and case manager assigned to cases governed by these Family Court Rules shall successfully complete 6 hours of coursework developed by the AOPC each calendar year after the calendar year in which the initial training was completed.
(d) Compliance. The AOPC shall monitor compliance with the educational requirements for judges, masters and case managers. The AOPC shall notify the Judicial Conduct Board of any noncompliance by a judge and the Disciplinary Board of any noncompliance by a master. Noncompliance by a case manager shall be reported to the president judge in the case manager's judicial district.
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 00-1416. Filed for public inspection August 18, 2000, 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.
