Rule 3 - Termination of Parental Rights(a)In General. Rule 2, setting forth procedures for proceedings in which a child is alleged to be in need of care or supervision, shall govern all proceedings in which a petition, motion or request has been filed seeking custody of a child without limitation as to adoption, except as set forth in this rule. (1) The petition, motion or request shall be in writing and shall notify respondents and the court of the relief sought.(2) When a disposition or permanency case plan, or other case plan, recommending termination of parental rights is filed, it shall be accompanied by a motion or petition signed by an attorney for the state or child.(3)(A) If a parent or the parents of a child have appeared in open court in a proceeding in which the child is alleged to be in need of care or supervision, a copy of a pending petition, motion, or request for termination of parental rights filed in that proceeding, together with notice of the time and place of the hearing on the petition, motion, or request, shall be served by the court directly upon the parent or parents by first-class mail in accordance with Rule 5(b)(2) of the Vermont Rules of Civil Procedure unless otherwise ordered. The expense of service other than by first-class mail shall be borne by the party seeking termination of parental rights.(B) If a parent or the parents have not appeared in open court, the petition, motion, or request and notice of hearing shall be served directly upon the parent or parents by an appropriate method provided in Rule 4 of the Vermont Rules of Civil Procedure as modified by sections 5311 and 5312 of Title 33 of the Vermont Statutes Annotated. Such service shall be made by the party seeking termination of parental rights at that party's expense.(b)Pretrial Hearing. A pretrial hearing shall be held within 14 days of the filing of the petition, motion or request. At the pretrial hearing the judge either shall assign a date certain for hearing on the petition, motion or request, or shall issue a discovery schedule and assign a date certain for a second pretrial hearing at which a date certain for the hearing shall be set.Added Aug. 22, 1991, eff. 11/1/1991; amended Jan. 27, 2000, eff. 5/1/2000; amended Jan. 11, 2008, eff. 3/11/2008; amended eff. 11/12/2008; amended Dec. 17, 2008, eff. 1/1/2009; Feb. 24, 2010, eff. 4/26/2010; amended Sept. 20, 2017, eff. 1/1/2018.Reporter's Notes-2018 Amendments
Rule 3(b) is amended to change its 15-day time period to 14 days consistent, with the simultaneous "day is a day" amendments to V.R.C.P. 6, which adopts the day-is-a-day counting system from the Federal Rules. See Reporter's Notes to simultaneous amendments of V.R.F.P. 1.