Fm Motion Nj Family Court – Fill Out and Use This PDF

Try to Get a Lawyer

The court system can be confusing and it is a good idea to get a lawyer if you can. If you cannot afford a lawyer, you may contact the legal services program in your county to see if you qualify for free legal services. Their telephone number can be found in your local yellow pages under “Legal Aid” or “Legal Services.”

If you do not qualify for free legal services and need help in locating an attorney, you can contact the bar association in your county. The telephone number can also be found in your local yellow pages. Most county bar associations have a Lawyer Referral Service. The county bar association Lawyer Referral Service can supply you with the names of attorneys in your area willing to handle your particular type of case and sometimes consult with you for a reduced fee.

There are a variety of organizations of minority lawyers throughout New Jersey, as well as organizations of lawyers who handle specialized types of cases. Ask the Family court staff in your county for a list of lawyer referral services that include these organizations.

What You Should Expect If You Represent Yourself

While you have the right to represent yourself in court, you should not expect special treatment, help, or attention from the court. The following is a list of things court staff can and cannot do for you.

We can explain and answer questions about how the court works.

We can tell you what the requirements are to have your case considered by the court.

We can give you some information from your case file.

We can provide you with samples of court forms that are available.

We can provide you with guidance on how to fill out forms.

We can usually answer questions about court deadlines.

We cannot give you legal advice. Only your lawyer can give you legal advice.

We cannot give you an opinion about what will happen if you bring your case to court.

We cannot recommend a lawyer, but we can provide you with the telephone number of a local lawyer referral service.

We cannot talk to the judge for you about what will happen in your case.

We cannot let you talk to the judge outside of court.

We cannot change an order issued by a judge.

Keep Copies of All Papers

Make and keep for yourself copies of any signed orders, written agreements, Judgments of Divorce, Case Information Statements, and other important papers that relate to your case.

Delivering Papers to the Correct People The instructions in this packet will tell you to mail or deliver copies of all letters, motions, certifications, orders or other papers to the lawyer representing the other person in the case. However, if the other person in the case does not have a lawyer and is representing himself or herself, then you must send those copies to that person.

If you mail your papers, we strongly recommend that you send them both simultaneously by both certified and regular mail, with return receipt requested, to the other party. This will provide you with a post office receipt and green card that can serve as proof of service. Your post office can tell you how to

send things by certified mail, return receipt requested.

These Papers Are for Filing a Motion The word motion used in this packet means a written request in which you ask the court to change or enforce an order it has already made. The court will change an order only if important facts or circumstances have changed from the time the order was issued. This is different from an appeal. This packet can also be used to request other case related actions by the court. These requests must be specific to your individual case governed by Court Rule 5:5-4.

If You Want to File an Appeal, Not a Motion

An appeal is a written request asking a higher court to look at the decision of the judge and change that judge's decision. You must make that written request for an appeal within 45 days after the judge decided the case and signed a judgment in the Superior Court.

If you want to file an appeal of a court order, do not use this packet of materials. Instead you should contact the Appellate Division in writing or by phone at:

Appellate Division, Superior Court,

Hughes Justice Complex

P.O. Box 006,

Trenton, NJ 08625-0006

Their telephone number is (609) 292-4822. The Appellate Division staff will provide you with information on how to file an appeal.

The numbered steps below tell you what forms you will need to fill out, and what to do with them.

Each form should be typed or clearly printed on 8 1/2" x 11" white paper only. Forms should not be filed on different size or color paper. Use only the forms included in this packet. Be sure to keep a copy for your records.

If you are filing a Motion to Increase / Decrease child support payments, you need to know that Child Support Guidelines are used in New Jersey to determine child support awards (N.J. Court Rule 5:6A). A copy of the New Jersey Court Rules is available in all county law libraries.

Step 1: Fill out the Notice of Motion (Form A)

The Notice of Motion form tells the court and the other party the things you want the court to do. It also tells the other person in the case and the court the date the motion will be heard.

Step 2: Get a court date for your motion.

You must locate a date you want your motion to be heard by the court. Go to njcourts.com. Look for “Calendar & Schedules”; look for miscellaneous; civil motion calendar; motion day schedule. Pick a Friday date that allows sufficient time to meet the required service and answer timeframes. Fill in that date on your Notice of Motion form.

NOTE: The date you are initially assigned may change depending on the judge's schedule. If that happens, the court will contact you and all parties listed in your papers.

Step 3 : Fill out the Confidential Litigant Information Sheet (Form 10486)

The purpose of this form is to endure accuracy of court records. You must complete this form any time you file a pleading (not just the first pleading) involving alimony, maintenance, child support, custody, parenting time visitation or paternity. Please complete the entire form, leaving no blank spaces. If something does not apply to you, enter “N/A”.

Step 4: Fill out the Certification (Form B)

On the Certification form, type or print the specific reasons you think the court should agree to the

things you are asking for in your Notice of Motion. The reasons you give to the court must be based on the facts that you know are true. Type or print the details about the events that led up to your filing this motion.

You must include with the completed Certification form a copy of all previous orders. You should also attach copies of any other papers that will prove that the things you say in your Certification are true, such as pay stubs or federal or state tax returns. These other papers are also called exhibits.

Step 5: Fill out the Proposed Order (Form C)

You should include in the Proposed Order all the things that you are asking the court for in your Notice of Motion. If the judge grants your motion after the hearing, the Proposed Order is the form the judge will sign. If the judge does not agree with everything you asked for, he or she may change your Proposed Order. The original and two copies of the Proposed Order must be attached to your Notice of Motion when you deliver it to the court, along with a stamped self-addressed envelope.

Step 6: Fill out the Certification of Filing and Service (Form D)

This step tells the court:

That you delivered or mailed by regular and certified mail, return receipt requested all the papers in your motion to the other party within the time required by the court rules for your motion; or

That you delivered or mailed by regular and certified mail, return receipt requested, all the papers in your motion to the other party's current lawyer, (if you know who the lawyer is), within the time required by the court rules for your motion; and

How you got the papers to the other party or to his or her current lawyer (if you know who the lawyer is). You must tell the court whether the papers were delivered in person or sent by regular and certified mail, return receipt requested.

Step 7: Fill out the Notice to Litigants (Form E)

The Notice to Litigants form lets the other party know how to respond to your Notice of Motion. Your motion could be dismissed if your motion papers do not include the Notice to Litigants.

Step 8: (Only complete this step if your child support order is being administered through the Probation Division and you want to change that order.) Fill out the Statement for the

Probation Division (Form F)

You must fill out this form if you are filing a Motion to Increase or Decrease Child Support payments that are paid to or received through the Probation Division. The form helps Probation know what the court has ordered so that it can keep track of child support payments in the case. If you are not paying or receiving child support through the Probation Division, but are filing a Motion to Increase or Decrease Child Support payments, do not complete this form, instead go directly to Step 8.

Step 9: Fill out the Case Information Statement (CIS)

If you are filing an FM/matrimonial motion and asking for any type of monetary relief such as an increase or decrease in support, you must complete and file a copy of the last CIS submitted to the court and complete a new and current CIS. This means you will be attaching two CIS forms to your current motion. The two CISs tell the court your past financial status as well as your current status, and both must be attached to your Notice of Motion.

The Case Information Statement form can be obtained at njcourts.com. Download a copy of the Case Information Statement from the Judiciary website and submit it with this packet if you are requesting any change in the financial status of your case. Don’t forget to attach proof of your income (i.e., pay stubs, tax returns, etc.)

You need to make an extra blank copy of the CIS before filling it out, so you can include it in the packet of papers you mail or deliver to the other party. The other party must also complete a CIS and mail or deliver one completed copy back to you and one completed copy to the court.

If you have completed a CIS before in this case, attach a copy of it to the CIS you just completed,

and include it with your papers you are filing with the court.

Step 10: Fill out the Letter to the Clerk (Form G)

Complete the form letter addressed to the Clerk of the Superior Court, Attn: Family Division Manager (or the name of the county). You must include with this letter a $30 check or money order (FM cases only) payable to the Treasurer, State of New Jersey, and a stamped return envelope addressed to yourself. Do not send cash. All other case types (FD, FV, etc.) do not require a filing fee. You must include a stamped, return envelope addressed to yourself. This letter must be the first page of the packet of papers that you file with the court.

Step 11: Check your completed forms.

Check your forms and make sure they are complete. Remove all instruction sheets before submitting to the court. Make sure you have signed the forms wherever necessary.

Step 11: Mail or deliver your package of completed papers to the court and the other party in the case.

Keep one copy of the entire packet for your own records. Follow the guidelines below on how to mail or deliver your completed forms. You must prove to the court that the other non-filing party has been served with your papers.

Checklist

Make sure you have all of the following items and that they are in this order:

•Letter to the Clerk of the Superior Court.

•$30 check or money order (FM cases only). Make the check or money order payable to, Treasurer, State of New Jersey.

Do not send cash. If you pay in person, keep the receipt for your records.

•Stamped return envelope addressed to yourself for the court order that will be mailed to you (if you did not select oral argument)

•Notice of Motion.

•Certification.

•Any papers to support your motion (called exhibits), including all prior orders.

•Proposed Order.

•Certification of Filing and Service.

•Notice to Litigants.

•Statement to the Probation Division, if required (See Step 7).

•Previous Case Information Statement (CIS) and a current CIS, if applicable.

Final Steps

•Make 3 copies of the entire packet of the completed forms, and 2 extra copies of the proposed order.

•Mail or deliver the following items to the court:

•The original and one copy of all the forms; and

•Two extra copies of the proposed order.

•Mail or deliver one copy of the entire packet of completed forms to the other party or his/her current lawyer, if known.

REMINDER: Keep one copy of the entire packet for your own records.

You can deliver the forms to court in person or you can mail them. If you are mailing the papers, use regular and certified mail with return receipt requested. This will provide you with a post office receipt and green card. Return of a signed green card is proof of service to the other party. Your post office can tell you how to send certified mail with return receipt requested.

Attention: If any person named in the Notice of Motion is receiving public assistance and this motion involves child support, you must also send a copy of the packet to the Social Services agency in the county that is providing assistance to that person and/or child(ren). If this applies to you, then you must make an extra copy of the entire packet of completed forms, and an extra copy of the Proposed Order.

Mail or deliver one copy of the entire packet to the Social Services agency providing public assistance.

Mail or deliver one copy of the Probation Statement to the county Probation Division if you are filing a Motion to Increase or Decrease Child Support and/or Alimony or Spousal Support payments and those payments are monitored through the county Probation Division.

Deadlines

You must get the motion papers to the other person in the case or to his or her lawyer at least 24 calendar days before the motion is scheduled to be heard by the court.

If you are sending your motion by mail, you must mail it no later than 27 calendar days before the motion is scheduled to be heard by the court. This allows three days for mailing and delivery.