Rule 18 - Summons; service of process; notice(a) Summons. Upon the filing of a petition, the clerk, unless otherwise directed by the court, will schedule an initial hearing in the case. (1) Summons may be issued by the petitioning attorney. If the petitioning attorney does not issue a summons, summons will be issued by the clerk in accordance with Utah Code section 78A-6-351. The summons must conform to the format prescribed by these rules. (2) Content of the summons. (A) Abuse, neglect, and dependency cases. The summons must contain the name and address of the court, the title of the proceeding, the type of hearing scheduled, and the date, place and time of the hearing. It must state the time within which the respondent is required to answer the petition, and must notify the respondent that in the case of the failure to do so, judgment by default may be rendered against the respondent. It must contain an abbreviated reference to the substance of the petition. It must include the bilingual notice set forth in the juvenile form 17 summons approved by the Utah Judicial Council.(B) Termination of parental rights cases. The summons must contain the 19 name and address of the court, the title of the proceeding, the type of 20 hearing scheduled, and the date, place and time of the hearing. It must state 21 the time within which the respondent is required to answer the petition. It 22 must contain an abbreviated reference to the substance of the petition. It 23 must include the bilingual notice set forth in the juvenile form summons 24 approved by the Utah Judicial Council.(C) Other cases. The summons must contain the name and address of the court, the title of the proceeding, the type of hearing scheduled, and the date, place, and time of the hearing. It must also contain an abbreviated reference to the substance of the petition. In proceedings against an adult pursuant to Utah Code section 78A-6-450, the summons must conform to the Utah Rules of Criminal Procedure and be issued by the prosecuting attorney.(3) The summons must be directed to the person or persons who have physical care, control or custody of the minor and require them to appear and bring the minor before the court. If the person so summoned is not the parent, guardian or custodian of the minor, a summons must also be issued to the parent, parents, guardian or custodian. If the minor or person who is the subject of the petition has been emancipated by marriage or is 18 years of age or older at the time the petition is filed, the summons may require the appearance of the minor only, unless otherwise ordered by the court. In neglect, abuse, and dependency cases, unless otherwise directed by the court, the summons must not require the appearance of the subject minor.(4) No summons is necessary as to any party who appears voluntarily or who files a written waiver of service with the clerk prior to or upon appearance at the hearing.(b) Service. (1) Except as otherwise provided by these rules or by statute, service of process and proof of service must be made by the methods provided in Rule 4 of Utah Rules of Civil Procedure. Service of process must be made by the sheriff of the county where the service is to be made, by a deputy, by a process server, or by any other suitable person appointed by the court. However, when the court so directs, an agent of the Department of Human Services may serve process in a case in which the Department is a party. A party or party's attorney may serve another party at a court hearing. The record of the proceeding will reflect the service of the document and will constitute the proof of service.(2) Personal service may be made upon a parent, parents, guardian, or custodian and upon a minor in that person's legal custody by delivering to a parent, parents, guardian or custodian a copy of the summons with a copy of the petition attached. If a minor is in the legal custody or guardianship of an agency or person other than a parent, service must also be made by delivering to the legal custodian a copy of the summons with a copy of the petition attached and notice must be given to the parent as provided in paragraph (d). Service upon a minor who has attained majority by marriage as provided in Utah Code Section 15-2-1 or upon court order must be made in the manner provided in the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure.(3) Service may be made by any form of mail requiring a signed receipt by the addressee. Service is complete upon return to court of the signed receipt. Service of process may be made by depositing a copy thereof in the United States mail addressed to the last known address of the person to be served. Any person who appears in court in response to mailed service is considered to have been legally served. (4) In any proceeding wherein the parent, parents, guardian or custodian cannot after the exercise of reasonable diligence be located for personal service, the court may proceed to adjudicate the matter subject to the right of the parent, guardian or custodian to a rehearing, except that in certification proceedings brought pursuant to Title 80, Chapter 6, Part 5, Transfer to District Court and in proceedings seeking permanent termination of parental rights, the court will order service upon the parent, parents, guardian, or custodian by publication. Any rehearing must be requested by written motion.(5) Service must be completed at least 48 hours prior to the adjudicatory hearing. If the summons is for the permanent termination of parental rights, service must be completed at least ten days before the adjudicatory hearing. If the summons is for a substantiation proceeding, service must be completed at least 45 days before the adjudicatory hearing.(c) Service by publication. Service by publication must be authorized by the procedure and in the form provided by the Utah Juvenile Code and Rule 4 of Utah Rule of Civil Procedure except that within the caption and the body of any published document, children must be identified by their initials and respective birth dates, and not by their names. The parent, guardian, or custodian of each child must be identified as such using their full names within the caption of any published document. (d) Notice. (1) Notice of the time, date and place of any further proceedings, after an initial appearance or service of summons, may be given in open court or by mail to any party. Notice is sufficient if the clerk deposits the notice in the United States mail, postage pre-paid, to the address provided by the party in court or the address at which the party was initially served, or, if the party has agreed to accept service by email, sends notice to the email address provided by the party.(2) Notice for any party represented by counsel must be given to counsel for the party through either mail, notice given in open court, or by email to the email address on file with the Utah State Bar.(e) Additional parties. Whenever it appears to the court that a person who is not the parent, guardian or custodian should be made subject to the jurisdiction and authority of the court in a minor's case, upon the motion of any party or the court's own motion, the court may issue a summons ordering such person to appear. Upon the appearance of such person, the court may enter an order making such person a party to the proceeding and may order such person to comply with reasonable conditions as a part of the disposition in the minor's case. Upon the request of such person, the court will conduct a hearing upon the issue of whether such person should be made a party.(f) Service of pleadings and other papers. Except as otherwise provided by these rules or by statute, service of pleadings and other papers not requiring a summons must be made by the methods provided in Rule 5 of Utah Rules of Civil Procedure, except that service to the email address on file with the Utah State Bar is sufficient service to an attorney under this rule, whether or not an attorney agrees to accept service by email. (g) Access to the Juvenile Court's Court and Agency Records Exchange (C.A.R.E.) for eFiling documents does not constitute an electronic filing account as referenced in the Rules of Civil Procedure. eFiling in C.A.R.E. does not constitute service upon a party.Amended effective 11/1/2010; 11/1/2017; amended effective 11/1/2018; amended July 2, 2021, effective 9/1/2021; amended February 14, 2024, effective 5/1/2024.Advisory Committee Notes
The present law is silent on the matter of service on the minor who is the subject of a petition. This rule continues the current practice of requiring service only on the parent, parents, guardian or custodian having legal custody.