THE COURTS
PART II. ORPHANS' COURT RULES
[ 231 PA. CODE PART II ]
Order Amending Rule 15.6 and Adopting New Forms in the Appendix to the Orphans' Court Rules; No. 593 Supreme Court Rules Doc.
[43 Pa.B. 1836]
[Saturday, April 6, 2013]
Order Per Curiam
And Now, this 19th day of March, 2013, upon the recommendation of the Orphans' Court Procedural Rules Committee; the proposal having been published for public comment at 42 Pa.B. 5730 (September 8, 2012):
It Is Ordered pursuant to Article V, Section 10 of the Constitution of Pennsylvania that amendment of Pennsylvania Orphans' Court Rule 15.6 is amended and new forms are adopted in the following form.
This Order shall be processed in accordance with Pa.R.J.A. No. 103(b) and shall be effective April 19, 2013 for all termination and adoption petitions filed after that date.
Annex A
TITLE 231. RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE
PART II. ORPHANS' COURT RULES
RULE 15: ADOPTIONS Rule 15.6. Notice to persons; method [and time]; notice of Orphans' Court proceedings filed on dependency docket.
(a) Notice to every person to be notified shall be by personal service, service at his or her residence on an adult member of the household, or by registered or certified mail to his or her last known address. If such service is unobtainable and the registered mail is returned undelivered, then:
(1) no further notice shall be required in proceedings under Rules 15.2 or 15.3, and
(2) in proceedings under Rules 15.4 and 15.5, further notice by publication or otherwise shall be given if required by general rule or special order of the local Orphans' Court. If, after reasonable investigation, the identity of a person to be notified is unknown, notice to him or her shall not be required.
(b) When a child is in the legal custody of a county agency:
(1) Within seven (7) days of the filing of a petition to terminate parental rights under Rules 15.2 or 15.4, or a petition to confirm consent under 23 Pa.C.S. § 2504, or a petition to adopt under Rule 15.5, the county agency shall file a praecipe with the clerk of the court where the child was declared dependent using the caption of the dependency proceeding, notifying the clerk of the name of the petition filed and the date of filing in substantially the form approved by the Supreme Court.
(2) Within seven (7) days of receiving the Court's disposition of the petitions described in subparagraph (b)(1), the county agency shall file a praecipe with the clerk of the court where the child was declared dependent using the caption of the dependency proceeding, notifying the clerk of the disposition of the petition and the date of the order in substantially the form approved by the Supreme Court.
(3) If a notice of appeal from an order described in subparagraph (b)(2) is filed, then within seven (7) days of service of the notice of appeal, the county agency shall file a praecipe with the clerk of the court where the child was declared dependent using the caption of the dependency proceeding, notifying the clerk of the appeal and the date of filing in substantially the form approved by the Supreme Court.
(4) Within seven (7) days of receiving the appellate court's disposition of the appeal described in subparagraph (b)(3), the county agency shall file a praecipe with the clerk of the court where the child was declared dependent using the caption of the dependency proceeding, notifying the clerk of the disposition of the appeal and the date of the decision in substantially the form approved by the Supreme Court.
Explanatory Comment This Rule was amended in 2013 to add paragraph (b). The purpose of the amendment was to provide a procedure for collecting data concerning children who have been declared dependent under the Juvenile Act and placed in the custody of the county agency. The information is entered into the Common Pleas Case Management System-Dependency Module to comply with reporting requirements and to monitor dependent children in the foster care system. Unlike a ''notice,'' as used in paragraph (a), the county agency is not required to serve the praecipe upon the parties to the dependency, termination, or adoption proceeding. The definition of ''county agency'' as used in this Rule is that contained in Pa.R.J.C.P. 1120. Where used in this Rule, ''Orphans' Court'' includes the Family Court division of the First Judicial District. See 20 Pa.C.S. § 713.
Pursuant to Rule 1.3 (Forms), the Court has approved forms for state-wide practice to comply with the requirements of paragraph (b). These forms can be found in the Appendix to these Rules.
INDEX TO APPENDIX
ORPHANS' COURT AND REGISTER OF WILLS FORMS
ADOPTED BY SUPREME COURT
PURSUANT TO Pa.O.C. Rule 1.3* * * * * F. Foreign Adoption Forms
1. Registration Forms—Pa.O.C. Rule 15.8
a. Petition to Register Foreign Adoption Decree
b. Final Decree—Granted
c. Final Decree—Denied
d. Instructions for Filing Petition
2. Completion of Foreign Adoption Forms—Pa.O.C. Rule 15.9
a. Preliminary Decree
b. Final Decree
c. Petition for Adoption of a Foreign Born Child
d. Report of the Intermediary
e. Verification of Translator
• Rule 15.6(b)(1) Form—Notification of the filing of a petition
• Rule 15.6(b)(2) Form—Notification of the entry of an Order from Orphans' Court
• Rule 15.6(b)(3) Form—Notification of an appeal from an Orphans' Court Order
• Rule 15.6(b)(4) Form—Notification of the entry of an Order disposing of an appeal
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 13-599. Filed for public inspection April 5, 2013, 9:00 a.m.]
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