Amendments to the Florida Family Law Rules

713 So. 2d 1, 23 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 105, 1998 Fla. LEXIS 475, 1998 WL 166533
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedFebruary 26, 1998
Docket89955
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 713 So. 2d 1 (Amendments to the Florida Family Law Rules) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Amendments to the Florida Family Law Rules, 713 So. 2d 1, 23 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 105, 1998 Fla. LEXIS 475, 1998 WL 166533 (Fla. 1998).

Opinion

713 So.2d 1 (1998)

AMENDMENTS TO THE FLORIDA FAMILY LAW RULES.

No. 89955.

Supreme Court of Florida.

February 26, 1998.

John F. Harkness, Jr., Executive Director, The Florida Bar, Tallahassee, Linda Vitale, Outgoing Chair, Florida Family Law Rules Committee, Fort Lauderdale, Burton Young, Chair, Florida Family Law Rules Committee, Young, Berman & Karpf, P.A., North Miami Beach, Durand Adams, Chair, Family Court Steering Committee, Bradenton, Debra Behnke, Co-Chair, Access to the Courts Workgroup, Family Courts Steering Committee, Tampa, and George S. Reynolds, III, Co-Chair, Access to the Courts Workgroup, Family Courts Steering Committee, Tallahassee, for Petitioner.

Amy Karan, Administrative Judge, Richard Yale Feder, Administrative Judge, Judith Kreeger, Associate Administrative Judge, Lester Langer, Circuit Judge, Michael B. Chavies, Circuit Judge, Eugene Fierro, Circuit Judge, Carol R. Gersten, Circuit Judge, Maynard Gross, Circuit Judge, Gerald D. Hubbart, Circuit Judge, Arthur Taylor, Circuit Judge, Cecilia Altonaga, County Judge, Deborah White Labora, County Judge, Mark King Leban, County Judge and Bertha Soto, County Judge, Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Miami, Robert L. Doyel, Circuit Judge, Tenth Judicial Circuit, Bartow, J.K. "Buddy" Irby, Clerk of the Circuit Court for Alachua County, Gainesville, Katherine Fernandez Rundle, State Attorney, Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Miami, Gerald S. Deutsch, Fort Lauderdale, Robert E. Schroeder, Director, Department of Human Services, on behalf of Metro-Dade Advocates for Victims Program, Miami, B. Niklas Brihammar of Sheri Smallwood, Chartered, Key West, Patricia Grogan, Chair, Governor's Task Force on Domestic and Sexual Violence, Florida Department of Community Affairs, Tallahassee, Caroline C. Emery, Jacksonville, Kathryn Gutstein, Chairperson, Dade County Alliance Against Domestic Violence, Miami, Ivon Mesa, on behalf of the Commission on the Status of Women, Miami, Rana Holz of Rubinstein & Holz, P.A., Fort Myers, Virginia Daire, General Counsel, Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Tallahassee, A. Quinn Jones, III, City Attorney and Ana Maria Pando, Assistant City Attorney, on behalf of the City of Miami Police Department, Miami, Marilyn R. McLean, Staff Attorney, Family Court Division, Eighth Judicial Circuit, Gainesville, Robert J. Jones, Administrative General Master, Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Miami, David B. Higginbottom, Frostproof, George F. Hachigian, Staff Representative, on behalf of the Fraternal Order of Police, Florida Labor Council, Inc., Fort Lauderdale, Linda J. Blue, Major, Metro-Dade Police Department, Domestic Crimes Bureau, Miami, Rachel Kronick, on behalf of Dade County Bar Association Legal Aid Society Domestic Violence Project, Miami, Geraldine E. Bishop, Judicial Staff Attorney, Fifth Judicial Circuit, Brooksville, Robert L. Vogel, Jr., Sheriff and Lt. Craig Broughton, Volusia County Sheriff's Department, Daytona Beach, comments regarding Family Law Rules.

OVERTON, Justice.

In 1990, the legislature established the Commission on Family Courts for the purpose of making recommendations regarding the implementation of the family law divisions. Ch. 90-273, Laws of Fla. After this Court received the commission's report recommending the implementation of such divisions, this Court established a new process for family law cases by directing that family court divisions be instituted. See In re Report of Com'n on Family Cts., 588 So.2d 586 (Fla.1991). Subsequently, we adopted new rules of procedure for these family law divisions, which were intended to address the unique problems of family law cases. In re Family Law Rules of Procedure, 663 So.2d 1047 (Fla.1995) (Family Law I), and In re Family Law Rules of Procedure, 663 So.2d 1049 (Fla.1995) (Family Law II). In doing so, we included a significant number of forms and instructions.

Because these rules were new, and in some instances appeared to be complicated, we recognized that the rules and forms would need additional prompt refinement. To address *2 this problem, in Family Law II we directed the Family Law Rules Committee, the Family Courts Steering Committee, and the Supreme Court Mediation and Arbitration Rules Committee to review the rules and forms following their implementation and to make recommendations for changes to the rules and forms. In issuing that directive, we stressed that the committees should place particular emphasis on making revisions to further simplify the family law process, particularly because of the many litigants in family law cases who represent themselves.

The development of common sense rules and forms in family law cases, understandable by both lawyers and pro se litigants alike, is essential. Reports submitted to the Office of State Courts Administrator by the circuits of this state reflect that, on average, sixtyfive percent of all family law cases have at least one unrepresented party. Consequently, the rules governing family law cases should be crafted to establish an easy-tounderstand process. Unfortunately, in adopting separate family law rules and forms, it appears that we may have complicated rather than simplified the process. One lawyer commenting on the rules stated that they are now so complicated that he has had to substantially increase his fees for dissolution proceedings. Our goal must be to simplify the process. Otherwise, we deny many citizens meaningful and affordable access to the courts, particularly when so many of them are self-represented. Moreover, every litigant in family law cases, whether represented by an attorney or not, is entitled to have contested matters heard by an article V judicial officer. Where custody, property, or liberty is involved, citizens in this state are entitled to a judicial resolution of a dispute, absent a mediated settlement.

In 1997, the rules and steering committees finalized their second review and submitted to us recommended rule and form modifications. The mediation committee found no need to recommend changes to the rules regarding family law mediation at this time. Additionally, in an effort to fulfill the spirit of this Court's directives to simplify the process of litigation in family law matters, the steering committee completely revised the forms, incorporating instructions for litigants throughout the forms, rather than keeping those instructions in attached appendices. The committee also added a number of new forms to the rules. The proposed amendments and modifications to the rules and forms are extensive; the rules and forms now constitute more than 500 pages.

The proposed rule changes were published for comment in The Florida Bar News, and many comments were received by this Court. We have now reviewed the proposed changes and the comments. The majority of the proposed changes fall into the following categories: technical revisions to improve or correct the forms and related instructions, domestic and repeat violence, mandatory disclosure, court appointed experts, evaluations of minor children, hearing officers and paternity determinations, motions for new trial and rehearing, civil contempt, and case management and pretrial conferences for adoptions. We adopt, without comment, the majority of technical changes made to the forms and related instructions. Additionally, after having reviewed the forms and related instructions, this Court has made numerous additional technical changes on its own. We address the numerous other issues raised by the proposed changes to the rules and the forms below.

DOMESTIC AND REPEAT VIOLENCE

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Bluebook (online)
713 So. 2d 1, 23 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 105, 1998 Fla. LEXIS 475, 1998 WL 166533, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/amendments-to-the-florida-family-law-rules-fla-1998.