(a) Actions for custody shall be as prescribed by Pa.R.C.P. 1915.4-3.(b) Custody Motions shall be governed by LR208.3(b).(c) Scheduling the Custody Conference. When filing a claim for custody or partial custody in a Complaint or a subsequent claim, the moving party shall: (1) Present the original and one copy of the pleading to the Administrative Custody Judge during Motions Court to obtain the Court's signature on the scheduling Order.(2) File the original pleading and Order in the Prothonotary's Office.(3) Serve a clocked copy of the pleading and Order on counsel of record and/or unrepresented parties pursuant to Pa.R.C.P. 1930.4 (original process) or 440 (other than original process), with proof of service to be filed in the Prothonotary's Office, and a copy of the proof of service to be provided to the Child Custody Conference Officer at or prior to the time set for the Conference.(4) Upon the filing of a Petition for Contempt of a Custody Order, the Judge shall schedule the Contempt Petition for a status conference or hearing before the Court, or for a conciliation conference before a conference officer.(5) In order to facilitate compliance with the requirements of the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Enforcement Act, a party shall provide the Court with all known information concerning a Custody proceeding pending or completed in another state which involves the same parties or children. Note: In particular, the Court should be informed of the following:
(1) the name and address of the Court in which such case is pending;(2) the caption of such case;(3) the name, address and telephone number of the Judge to whom the case might have been assigned, and(4) any Orders entered in such case. Information provided under this Rule should be submitted in writing and attached to the Complaint/Petition.(6) All petitions for modification of custody orders shall have attached thereto, unless excused by the Court for good cause shown, copies of the Petitioner's certificate of completion of the mandatory Educational Seminar as required in LR1915C, as well as proof of compliance with all counseling and other services mandated in the Order sought to be modified. If such proof and the certificate of completion are not attached, the Court may refuse to entertain the petition.(d) Preliminary Objections. Any party filing Preliminary Objections raising issues of jurisdiction or venue of the Court to act, shall, concurrently with filing the same with the Prothonotary, deliver a true and correct copy of the Preliminary Objections to the Administrative Judge and to opposing counsel and/or to any party not represented by counsel. The Judge will schedule the matter for argument or hearing.(e) Conduct of Conciliation Conference Officer.(1) The Conference Officer will convene a conciliation conference, as scheduled by the Court, which conference shall be attended by the parties and their legal counsel, if any.(2) Before counsel appears before the Conference Officer, counsel must enter his/her Appearance on the record in the Prothonotary's Office, provide notice to all opposing counsel or party(ies) and have proof of entry of Appearance available at the conference.(3) Counsel for the parties, or the parties themselves if unrepresented, are to provide true and correct copies of any exhibits to be shown to the Conference Officer, to counsel for the opposing party or to the opposing party if unrepresented, at least five (5) days prior to the scheduled conference. Failure to comply may, at the discretion of the Conference Officer, result in the exclusion of the exhibit from consideration, the rescheduling of the conference to allow the opposing party an opportunity to respond or other action deemed appropriate by the Conference Officer.(4) The parties, counsel and the Conference Officer, as mediator or conciliator, shall make a good-faith effort to resolve the issues and reach an agreement on custody and/or partial custody. The Conference Officer shall conduct the Conciliation Conference as an informational and conciliatory proceeding rather than confrontational or adversarial.(5) No Custody Conference shall be rescheduled by any party or counsel without Order of Court.(f) Procedure After Conciliation Conference.(1) If the parties reach agreement, the Conference Officer shall submit an Agreed Order to the Court, evidenced by signatures of the parties and their counsel, if any.(2) If the parties do not reach agreement, the Conference Officer shall file a written report with the Court within five (5) business days, unless otherwise extended by agreement of counsel, or the parties if unrepresented. The report shall be in a narrative form and shall include the positions of the parties, proposed settlements of the parties, if any, and the recommendation of the Conference Officer, together with reasoning for the recommendations. Upon receipt and review of the report, the Court shall issue a Proposed Order or a Temporary Order.(3) A Proposed Order shall be entered as a Final Order unless Exceptions thereto are filed.(4) Exceptions to the Proposed Order or Temporary Order must be in writing. The Exceptions must be filed with the Prothonotary, and copies thereof must be delivered to the Administrative Judge, as well as to all counsel and/or unrepresented parties of record.(5) Failure of any party, having any form of physical custody of a child, to appear at a scheduled conciliation conference may result in the Court's entry of a proposed Final or Temporary Order or in the scheduling of the matter for a Hearing before the Court and may result in imposition of sanctions by the Court or dismissal of the requested relief.(g) Pre-Trial Conference.(1) Upon receipt of the Exceptions, the Court will schedule a Pre-Trial Conference to be attended by all parties and counsel if any.(2) No later than five (5) days prior to the date scheduled for Pre-Trial Conference, each attorney and each party not represented by counsel must file a completed Pre-Trial Information Statement, on or in a form approved by the Court.(3) Failure of any party, having any form of physical custody of a child, to appear at a scheduled Pre-Trial Conference, may result in the Court's entry of a proposed Final or Temporary Order or in the scheduling of the matter for a Hearing before the Court and may result in imposition of sanctions by the Court or dismissal of the requested relief.(h) Reduced-Fee Program (1) Any individual who is referred under Neighborhood Legal Services Association's (NLSA) Pro Bono or Reduced-Fee Programs shall be granted leave to proceed In Forma Pauperis. Counsel shall present to the Prothonotary a Praecipe for Permission to Proceed In Forma Pauperis, which shall be endorsed by counsel, and which shall have attached to it a Certificate of Eligibility prepared by NLSA. The Praecipe shall be substantially in the following form: (CAPTION)
Praecipe to Proceed in Forma Pauperis
To the Prothonotary: Kindly allow {Plaintiff's/Defendant's Name}, the Plaintiff/Defendant, to proceed In Forma Pauperis.
I, {Attorney's Name}, attorney for the party proceeding In Forma Pauperis, certify that I believe the party is unable to pay the costs and that I am providing free legal services or reduced-fee legal services to the party pursuant to the Reduced-Fee or Pro Bono Referral Programs of Neighborhood Legal Services Association. The party's Certificate of Eligibility prepared by Neighborhood Legal Services Association is attached hereto.
_________________ Name of Attorney for {Plaintiff/Defendant}
Address
Telephone Number
Supreme Court ID Number
(2) Any participating member of the Beaver County Bar Association who provides representation to a Custody litigant on a Motion for Special Relief or at a Child Custody Conference pursuant to a referral from NLSA's Pro Bono or Reduced-Fee Programs, shall be permitted to enter a Limited Appearance. The Praecipe for Entry of Limited Appearance shall be substantially in the following form: (Caption)
Praecipe for Entry of Limited Appearance
To the Prothonotary: Kindly enter my Limited Appearance for {Plaintiff's/Defendant's Name}, the Plaintiff/Defendant, in the above-captioned matter. This Appearance is limited to providing representation {on the filed on behalf of this party/at the Custody Conference scheduled in this matter for [date of Conference]}.
_________________ Name of Attorney for {Plaintiff/Defendant}
Address
Telephone Number
Supreme Court ID Number
(3) Upon completion of the representation under the above-described referral programs, the attorney shall file a Praecipe for Withdrawal of Limited Appearance. This Praecipe shall be filed without leave of Court, and it shall not be required to, but may, contain information about another attorney who may be entering his/her Appearance contemporaneously. This Praecipe shall direct the Prothonotary to send all future notices directly to the client and shall set forth the client's last-known address. The Praecipe for Withdrawal of Limited Appearance shall be substantially in the following form: (Caption)
Praecipe for Withdrawal of Limited Appearance Pursuant to LR1915b
To the Prothonotary: Kindly withdraw my Limited Appearance for {Plaintiff's/Defendant's Name}, the Plaintiff/Defendant, in the above-captioned matter. All future notices should be sent directly to {Plaintiff's/Defendant's Name}, the Plaintiff/Defendant, at {set forth last-known address for this party}.
_________________ Name of Attorney for {Plaintiff/Defendant}
Address
Telephone Number
Supreme Court ID Number
(i) Educational Seminar Pertaining to Children of Divorcing Parents(1) All parties to Custody Actions shall, unless excused by the Court, complete within a specified time the Educational Seminar Pertaining to Children of Divorcing Parents (the ''Seminar'') or other educational program selected by the Court.(2) All parties shall register for the first available seminar after the date the Defendant has been served with process. A copy of the Notice and Registration Form shall be served on the Defendant at the same time as the Complaint. Failure of a party to successfully complete the Seminar will result in sanctions by the Court.Adopted effective 3/1/2024