In Re: Amendments to the Florida Supreme Court Approved Family Law Forms - Nomenclature

235 So. 3d 357
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedFebruary 1, 2018
DocketSC17-1948
StatusPublished

This text of 235 So. 3d 357 (In Re: Amendments to the Florida Supreme Court Approved Family Law Forms - Nomenclature) 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
In Re: Amendments to the Florida Supreme Court Approved Family Law Forms - Nomenclature, 235 So. 3d 357 (Fla. 2018).

Opinion

Supreme Court of Florida ____________

No. SC17-1948 ____________

IN RE: AMENDMENTS TO THE FLORIDA SUPREME COURT APPROVED FAMILY LAW FORMS—NOMENCLATURE.

[February 1, 2018]

PER CURIAM.

Pursuant to the procedures approved by this Court in Amendments to the

Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure & Family Law Forms, 810 So. 2d 1, 13-14

(Fla. 2000), this Court has internally reviewed the Florida Supreme Court

Approved Family Law Forms and has determined that amendments to the existing

forms are needed in light of the United States Supreme Court’s decision in

Obergefell v. Hodges, 135 S. Ct. 2584 (2015), and other recent statutory and rule

amendments. Input on these issues was received from the Advisory Workgroup on

the Florida Supreme Court Approved Family Law Forms, which provided valuable

assistance. We have jurisdiction,1 and amend the forms as follows.

1. See art. V, § 2(a), Fla. Const. First, in response to the United States Supreme Court’s decision in

Obergefell, we amend multiple forms to replace gendered terms with gender-

neutral terms, so that the same forms are appropriate for use in the context of both

opposite-sex and same-sex marriages. Next, we amend several existing forms to

ensure that clear, concise, and consistent language is used across similar forms, and

the General Instructions and Glossary to the forms to reflect recent changes to the

forms and to harmonize various definitions contained in the forms with those

contained in the Glossary. We also amend several existing final judgment forms to

separate factual findings from decretal ones, and we amend various forms to reflect

recent amendments to the Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure, adopted in In re

Amendments to Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure, 214 So. 3d 400 (Fla.

2017).

Additionally, we add language addressing parental consent to a child’s

mental health treatment to several parenting plan forms in accordance with recent

amendments to section 61.13(2)(b)3.a., Florida Statutes (2017). See ch. 2016-241,

§ 81, at 67-68, Laws of Fla. Finally, we adopt two new forms for use in

proceedings commenced pursuant to sections 61.09 and 61.10, Florida Statutes

(2017): 12.904(a)(2) (Petition for Support and Parenting Plan Unconnected with

Dissolution of Marriage with Dependent Minor Children) and 12.994(a)(2) (Final

-2- Judgment for Support and Parenting Plan Unconnected with Dissolution of

Marriage).

The amended and new forms are hereby adopted as set forth in the appendix

to this opinion, fully engrossed. The amendments to the forms shall become

effective immediately upon the release of this opinion and may be accessed and

downloaded from the Florida State Court’s website at

http://www.flcourts.org/resources-and-services/court-improvement/problem-

solving-courts/family-courts/family-law-forms.stml. By adoption of the amended

forms, we express no opinion as to their correctness or applicability. We also

direct that the amended forms be published for comment. Interested persons shall

have sixty days from the date of this opinion to file comments with the Court.2

2. All comments must be filed with the Court on or before April 2, 2018, as well as a separate request for oral argument if the person filing the comment wishes to participate in oral argument, which may be scheduled in this case. If filed by an attorney in good standing with The Florida Bar, the comment must be electronically filed via the Portal in accordance with In re Electronic Filing in the Supreme Court of Florida via the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal, Fla. Admin. Order No. AOSC13-7 (Feb. 18, 2013). If filed by a non-lawyer or a lawyer not licensed to practice in Florida, the comment must be electronically filed via e-mail in accordance with In re Mandatory Submission of Electronic Copies of Documents, Fla. Admin. Order No. AOSC04-84 (Sept. 13, 2004). Electronically filed documents must be submitted in Microsoft Word 97 or higher. Any person unable to submit a comment electronically must mail or hand-deliver the originally signed comment to the Florida Supreme Court, Office of the Clerk, 500 South Duval Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1927; no additional copies are required or will be accepted.

-3- It is so ordered.

LABARGA, C.J., and PARIENTE, LEWIS, QUINCE, CANADY, POLSTON, and LAWSON, JJ., concur.

THE FILING OF A MOTION FOR REHEARING SHALL NOT ALTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THESE AMENDMENTS.

Original Proceeding – Florida Supreme Court Approved Family Law Forms

-4- FAMILY LAW FORMS, COMMENTARY, AND INSTRUCTIONS GENERAL INFORMATION FOR SELF-REPRESENTED LITIGANTS (02/18) You should read this General Information thoroughly before taking any other steps to file your case or represent yourself in court. Most of this information is not repeated in the attached forms. This information should provide you with an overview of the court system, its participants, and its processes. It should be useful whether you want to represent yourself in a pending matter or have a better understanding of the way family court works. This is not intended as a substitute for legal advice from an attorney. Each case has its own particular set of circumstances, and an attorney may advise you of what is best for you in your individual situation.

These instructions are not the only place that you can get information about how a family case works. You may want to look at other books for more help. The Florida Statutes, Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure, Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, and other legal information or books may be found at the public library or in a law library at your county courthouse or a law school in your area. If you are filing a petition for Name Change and/or Adoption, these instructions may not apply.

If the word(s) is printed in bold, this means that the word is being emphasized. Throughout these instructions, you will also find words printed in bold and underlined. This means that the definitions of these words may be found in the glossary of common family law terms at the end of this general information section.

Commentary

1995 Adoption. To help the many people in family law court cases who do not have attorneys to represent them (pro se litigants), the Florida Supreme Court added these simplified forms and directions to the Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure. The directions refer to the Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure or the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure. Many of the forms were adapted from the forms accompanying the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure. Practitioners should refer to the committee notes for those forms for rule history.

The forms were adopted by the Court pursuant to Family Law Rules of Procedure, 667 So. 2d 202 (Fla. 1995); In re Petition for Approval of Forms Pursuant to Rule 10-1.1(b) of the Rules Regulating the Florida Bar—Stepparent Adoption Forms, 613 So. 2d 900 (Fla. 1992); Rules Regulating the Florida Bar—Approval of Forms, 581 So. 2d 902 (Fla. 1991).

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Related

Obergefell v. Hodges
135 S. Ct. 2584 (Supreme Court, 2015)
In Re: Amendments to Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure
214 So. 3d 400 (Supreme Court of Florida, 2017)
Rules Regulating the Florida Bar—Approval of Forms, Rule 10-1.1(b)
581 So. 2d 902 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1991)
In re Family Law Rules of Procedure
667 So. 2d 202 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1996)

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