What Is a Family Law Case Cover Sheet?
The family law case cover sheet is a document that must be filed in each and every family law case. Its primary purpose is to assist the Court in grouping the cases together that deal with similar issues. When there are a large number of filings in a short period of time, the cover sheets are essential in allowing the staff of the court to electronically organize the matters by the different types of cases and issues before the family court.
While most people will never see the cover sheet after filing their Petition or Response, it remains an important consideration in your case. The cover sheet advises the Court , and those reviewing the Court’s databases, whether there are additional issues requiring resolution, such as child support, spousal support, custody, or domestic violence. It also helps in allowing for the speedy distribution of your files for the judge assigned to your case.
In addition, this document is often utilized by opposing parties and/or their lawyers in identifying additional issues within which that party might be interested, or in identifying issues that might be similar to those being addressed in their own cases.
Family Law Case Cover Sheet Components
The first part of a family law case in some situations is the cover sheet which needs to be filed with the Petition or Family Court Cover Sheet (a/k/a the Summons to Respondent) or with the Response. The Family Court Cover Sheet contains a lot of information that the court needs to administer the court files. It sometimes contains information that is relevant to a trial. But, I would not recommend really worrying about filling out the form in a case where you do not have a lawyer. If you need to, and can’t complete the form, just write on the form that it needs to be done at a later time.
Common areas that need to be filled out on a family law cover sheet include:
1. Parties’ names and addresses. 2. Title of action. 3. Names of attorneys for each party. 4. Type of action. (You would check "dissolution" or "nullity"for a divorce; "legal separation" for legal separation; "dissolution/domestic partnership" for domestic partnership in divorce; etc.) 5. Hearing date. 6. Date of separation. 7. Respondent’s date of birth. 8. Children: age, residence, birthdates. 9. Income: petitioner’s income, spouse’s income. 10. Marital parties. 11. Financial disclosures. 12. Domestic violence. 13. Paralegal. 14. Other courts. 15. Prior or contemporaneous proceedings. 16. Writings, receipts, letters, photographs, other documents. 17. Language in which language interpreter is needed. 18. Police department number. 19. Law enforcement agency. 20. Spouse is active duty military. 21. Date of marriage. 22. Date of registration of domestic partnership. 23. Date of separation under Family Code. 24. Date of registration of domestic partnership. 25. Date spousal support ends. 26. Obligor or payee regarding spousal support. 27. Pay secretarily of issuer or payee for spousal support. 28. Issue regarding community property. 29. Issue regarding separate property. 30. Issue regarding creditors. 31. Property division alimony. 32. Community debt. 33. Separate debt. 34. Principal residence. 35. Residence allegations under the tenant issue. 36. Grounds for nullity action. 37. Place of residence. 38. Other (contested or default or domestic partnership dissolution.
Completing a Family Law Case Cover Sheet
Family law case cover sheets can be a little confusing. The cover sheet is required to be filed with almost every filing in family law court. The form asks for basic information about the nature of the filing, the marital status of the parties, declarations of prior filings by either party, and information about which forms and orders might already be in the file.
It’s important to complete the family law cover sheet because it helps the court keep track of all the documents that have been filed and will guide the judge to the correct parts of the file. It also helps to avoid duplicate filings if one side or the other has tried to file the same document, or to alert the court if there is a pending motion that hasn’t yet been heard.
The most typical mistake is not number 8, where you cross out "Reserves $450 Fee Waiver." If the client hasn’t yet been approved for a fee waiver, then that particular box should be crossed out or left alone. If the order is not approved, a filing fee will have to be paid. If the client is approved for a fee waiver, the original must be attached.
Family law case cover sheets can be found on various California courts’ websites. Use an unabridged copy. Type or, if necessary, fill your form out on the computer, making sure that fonts are clear and it’s easy to read. The court will make copies of the forms that you bring, so a lot of parties mistakenly think that the court has extra copies lying around. Generally speaking, however, the benefit of filing by fax is that you don’t need to attach your own copies.
The Family Law Case Cover Sheet for Common Cases
The family law case cover sheet is required when filing many different types of family law cases. The most common types of family law cases requiring a case cover sheet are divorce, child custody, alimony, and domestic violence.
Most people understand that when you get divorced or separated in New Jersey, the matter is filed under the dissolution of marriage docket. The family case coversheets required by the New Jersey Courts’ guidelines allow the Judiciary to identify the type of case the litigant has filed in order to assign it to the domestic division of the court. In other words, it dosen’t make sense for your case to be assigned to the civil division of the court if you are going to get divorced. That’s why a case cover sheet is necessary. A case cover sheet helps achieve this goal.
A case cover sheet also helps the family division of the court make certain that they have all of the required documentation for your filing . There are many different filing requirements in New Jersey in every division of the court, but especially in the family court, where there are financial disclosures, specialized forms, etc. The case cover sheet is a quick reference for the court to confirm whether or not you filed any of the required documentation. Without a case cover sheet, the family division of the court has to go through each filing individually to confirm that you filed all of the required documentation.
The family law case cover sheet enforces compliance with FRM 4:2. The Judiciary comments that the guidelines are necessary because, due to technology advancements, they "have come to rely upon file-in electronic order entry and electronic records" and, without filing in the family cases, "they cannot track rulings that are later appealed." Without the family law case cover sheet, tracking these records would compromise the Judiciary’s ability to create an accurate record of New Jersey family law cases.
Obtaining a Family Law Case Cover Sheet
Family law case cover sheets are integral documents within the court system, ensuring that critical information about a case is compiled in the early stages. As such, the forms should be readily available. Fortunately, both online and offline resources abound when it comes to obtaining family law case cover sheets.
The first step to take when searching for a case cover sheet is to go to your local city or county court’s website. In almost every instance, family law document cover sheets will be housed at the local level, not the state level. This is because Texas rules on this topic state that "each district court shall furnish the district clerk with such forms as the clerk may require to allow for the efficient processing of family district court cases."
Different counties have slightly different cover sheet forms, so you’ll want to select the form unique to your area. This could be achieved by entering "county family law case cover sheet" into your search engine. From there, you should be taken directly to the specific form for your locality.
In some families, the cover sheet is called by a different name, such as a family court info sheet, pre-filing information sheet or case information sheet. In addition, not all courts in this area require cover sheets.
For example, we’ve found that Harris and Fort Bend Counties require them, but Montgomery County does not. The exact requirements may vary from year to year, so always check in. Even if you don’t technically need a cover sheet, it’s often good practice to use one anyway, as it helps the court understand the relevant elements of your case right from the start.
If you have a list of what family law documents you need for court, remember to always check the family court’s website before proceeding with the filing process. You may find that another form is also required, which you might otherwise have missed.
Legal Help with the Completion of Your Family Law Case Cover Sheet
At times, as simple as the Family Law Case Cover Sheet may seem, you will need assistance from experienced counsel to complete the form and make sure that your case is filed in the correct court, the cover sheet is properly completed and that all actions are taken timely and properly. Some common mistakes or miss-steps we have encountered include: When retaining legal counsel in a family law matter, the first task will usually be to compile all the data necessary to complete the Family Law Case Cover Sheet. The questions on the Family Law Case Cover Sheet are complex and will require an understanding and knowledge of not only the general requirements , but the additional requirements for the specific county your matter is embedded in (as for example, New Castle County Family Court and Sussex County Family Court have different rules and procedures). When dealing with judicial matters, especially in the family court system, it is critical that any mistakes be avoided at all costs. In our opinion, this is why retaining a lawyer with experience in your local jurisdiction is so important.