Title
Title
Rules and Forms | Family Law: Technical Changes to Forms (Action Required)
body
Summary
Summary
The Family and Juvenile Law Advisory Committee recommends technical changes to improve several forms by correcting clerical errors, updating references to state and federal codes, and making other minor changes to align the forms with statewide procedures. The technical changes will improve the accuracy of the forms and avoid causing confusion for court users, clerks, and judicial officers.
body
Recommendation
Recommendation
The Family and Juvenile Law Advisory Committee recommends that the Judicial Council, effective July 1, 2025, revise the following forms:
1. Schedule of Assets and Debts (form FL-142).
a. The reference to Code of Civil Procedure (CCP) sections 2030(c) and 2033.5 in the footer of the form will be deleted and replaced with CCP sections 2030.010 to 2030.310 to denote that the form may be used to propound or respond to form interrogatories; and
b. Family Code sections 2100-2113 will be added in the footer to denote that the form may also be used to comply with the parties’ obligation to disclose assets and debts in dissolution proceedings.
2. Form Interrogatories-Family Law (form FL-145) will be revised to delete the reference to courtinfo.ca.gov and replace it with courts.ca.gov.
3. Request to Enter Default (form FL-165) will be revised to:
a. Renumber item 3 to add clarifying language that a person who does not attach a completed Property Declaration (form FL-160) must check a box to indicate why the form is not attached;
b. Delete “Family Code section 2330.5” in item 3d and add it to the citation in the footer; and
c. Reformat items 3(a)-(f), 4(a)-(b), and 6(a)-(f) so they are not enclosed by parentheticals.
4. Request for Order (form FL-300).
a. The reference in the footer to revoked Government Code 26826 will be deleted and replaced with Government Code section 70612;
b. Item 4e will be revised to delete the duplicate word “should”;
c. Item 8c will be revised to delete the duplicate word “the”; and
d. The title of form MC-410 will be updated to Disability Accommodation Request in the Request for Accommodations language at the bottom of page 4 of the form.
5. Request to Reschedule Hearing (form FL-306). To avoid confusion if more than one Request for Order (form FL-300) is filed, a fillable blank space will be added at item 2a for a party to specify the type of relief being sought in the Request for Order (e.g., child custody, child support, property division, etc.).
6. Request for Child Abduction Prevention Orders (form FL-312).
a. The reference to section 9001 et seq. of title 22 of the United States Code will be added to the footer of the first page of the form. This will also aid form users because Family Code section 3048, which is currently in the footer, still references revoked section 11601 of title 42 of the United States Code.
b. The form number for Declaration of Supervised Visitation Provider will be updated to include links to the form for nonprofessional providers (form FL-324(NP)) and the form for professional providers (form FL-324(P)).
7. Child Custody Information Sheet--Recommending Counseling (form FL-313-INFO).
a. The name of form MC-410 will be updated to Disability Accommodation Request in the Request for Accommodations language at the bottom of page 2; and
b. Hyperlinks to the websites listed on page 2 will be embedded in the form.
8. Child Custody Information Sheet--Child Custody Mediation (form FL-314-INFO) will be revised in the same manner as form FL-313-INFO will be, indicated above.
9. Responsive Declaration to Request for Order (form FL-320). The checkbox at item 9 will be corrected to reference “Attachment 9” instead of “Attachment 10.”
10. Information Sheet: Responsive Declaration to Request for Order (form FL-320-INFO). The form will be revised by:
a. Replacing the image of Response to Request for Order (form FL-320) on page 2 with the image of form FL-320 that was revised effective January 1, 2025; and
b. Updating the hyperlinks in items 15 and 16 to match the current names of the webpages on the Self-Help Guide to the California Courts.
11. Findings and Order After Hearing (form FL-340).
a. The party caption will be updated to align with the format of other Judicial Council forms in the family law series;
b. All references to “Other party” will be changed to “Other parent/party” to be consistent with other family law forms;
c. In item 9, the term “reschedule” will be used instead of “continue” to align with Request to Reschedule Hearing (form FL-306);
d. A checkbox will be added at the bottom of the page to specify the name of the court professional, party, or attorney who drafted the court order under rule 5.125 of the California Rules of Court;
e. A second date and signature line will be added to allow the other parent/party or attorney to indicate approval of the proposed order as conforming to the court order; and
f. Rule 5.125 of the California Rules of Court will be added as a reference in the footer.
12. Child Abduction Prevention Order Attachment (form FL-341(B)). The references to section 11601 of title 42 of the United States Code in the footer on page 1 and in the notice language on page 2 will be revised to reflect that section 11601 of title 42 of the United States Code was transferred to section 9001 et seq. of title 22 of the United States Code.
13. Spousal, Domestic Partner, or Family Support Order Attachment (form FL-343).
a. To be consistent with item 3 in Petition--Marriage/Domestic Partnership (form FL-100), items 2.b and 2.c will be revised so that the length of time that the parties were married or in a registered domestic partnership appears as “____ years and ____ months,” instead of “___ months and____ years; and
b. Item 7c will be revised to update the title of form FL-192 to Notice of Rights and Responsibilities Regarding Child Support.
14. Affidavit of Facts Constituting Contempt--Financial and Injunctive Orders (form FL-411). The reference to “Other party” in the caption will be changed to “Other parent/party” to be consistent with other family law forms. It will also be renumbered from item 1 with subitems a, b, and c to items 1, 2, and 3 to reflect the formatting used for Judicial Council forms. The link in the footer of the page will also be updated to courts.ca.gov, instead of courtinfo.ca.gov.
In addition, these 14 forms will be revised globally, as needed, to reflect current formatting for weblinks on Judicial Council forms.
body