Family Court Filing Instructions

Custody/Visitation Petition | Support Petition | Objections to a Support Order

 

General Instructions

Forms may be obtained in person from the Court, from the Internet, and from the Intranet.

Follow the links below for general information relative to filing petitions for custody, visitation, support, or objections to a support order.


 

 

 

Custody And/Or Visitation

If there is no court order granting custody or visitation, complete an original petition for custody.

If you have an order for custody or visitation, and wish to change this order, complete a petition for modification.

If you have an order for custody or visitation that is being violated, complete a petition alleging a violation.

Forms must be complete with names and addresses of all parties - Petitioner(s) is (are) the person(s) filing the petition and the Respondent(s) is (are) the person(s) against whom the petition is filed.

Answer each question to the best of your ability. Incomplete petitions may be dismissed by the Court.

If you are filing a petition to modify or violate an order not from "Broome County Family Court," you must attach a copy of that order.

Petitions must be signed in the presence of a Notary or Court employee. This may be done at the Reception window with proper identification.

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Support

If there is no court order granting support, complete an original petition for support.

If you have an order for support and wish to change this order, complete a petition for modification of support.

If you have an order for support that is being violated, complete a petition alleging a violation of support.

Forms must be complete with names and addresses of all parties - Petitioner(s) is (are) the person(s) filing the petition and the Respondent(s) is (are) the person(s) against whom the petition is filed.

Answer each question to the best of your ability. Incomplete petitions may be dismissed by the Court.

If you are filing a petition to modify or violate an order not from "Broome County Family Court," you must attach a copy of that order.

If a document requires a notary, you may bring proper identification with you to the Family Court, and sign before a clerk.

 

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Filing Objections and Rebuttal in a Proceeding Before a Hearing Examiner

You have received a copy of an Order of Support signed by the Family Court Court Magistrate and the findings of fact upon which the order is based. THIS ORDER MUST BE OBEYED.

Either party has the right to file specific written objections to this order. Objections must be filed with the Family Court Clerk within thirty (30) days of the date the order was received in court or personally served, or, of the order was received by mail, within thirty five (35) days from the date this order was mailed. The objections will then be reviewed by a Family Court Judge. Even though the objection has been filed, the amount of support ordered by the Court Magistrate MUST continue to be paid unless and until a Judge signs a different order.

Procedures for Filing Objections

  1. The objection must be in writing and contain the name, file number and docket number of the case.
  2. The reason for your objections and the parts of the order objected to must be clearly stated.
  3. The opposing party must be served with a copy of the objections, either in person or by mail and an "Affidavit of Service" must be completed. (See form on back of this sheet.)
  4. The original copy of the objections and the Affidavit of Service must be filed with the Family Court Clerk where the order was entered within thirty (30) days of the date the order was received in Court or personally served, or, if the order was received by mail, within thirty five (35) days of the mailing of the order.
  5. A transcript of any hearing held will not by necessary unless the Judge requires it. If so, the Family Court Clerk will provide information necessary to obtain a transcript. The party filing the objection must pay for the cost of the transcript.
  6. If an objecting party cannot afford to pay for the transcripts when required, the Family Court Clerk will provide information for obtaining the transcripts without charge.
  7. The party served with the objections has a right to file a rebuttal. A rebuttal is an answer to the objections.

Procedures for Filing a Rebuttal

  1. A rebuttal to objections must be in writing and contain the name, file number and docket number of the case.
  2. The rebuttal must state the date the objections were received, the specific objections being answered, and the reason for the rebuttal.
  3. The opposing party must be served with a copy of the rebuttal, either in person or by mail, within thirteen (13) days after receipt of the objection, and an "Affidavit of Service" must be completed. (See form.)
  4. The original copy of the rebuttal and the Affidavit of Service must be filed with the Family Court Clerk within the thirteen (13) day period.

 

Transcript requests:

To request a transcript, you must complete the Transcript Request Form. You can find a list of transcript providers at: https://www.nycourts.gov/courts/transcripts/.

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