(a) Family Division. These rules govern the procedure in the Family Division of the Superior Court, except that guardianship proceedings and adoption actions transferred to the Family Division pursuant to 4 V.S.A. § 455 shall be governed by the Vermont Rules of Probate Procedure.(b) Probate Court. Family Court Rules 6 and 6.1 govern the procedure in the probate courts to the extent set forth in those rules. (c) Definitions. The following terms and variations of them wherever they appear in these rules, or other rules made applicable under provisions of these rules, have the indicated meaning unless the context clearly dictates a different meaning:
(1) “Family court” means “Family Division of the Superior Court.” (2) “Court” means a majority of the judges, except that in any matter in which pursuant to 4 V.S.A. § 36 or these rules a Superior Judge is authorized to act alone, the words “court” or “judge” shall mean the Presiding Judge or a judge acting for that judge or any Superior Judge authorized to act alone, or a member of the Vermont bar acting for that judge. (3) “Clerk” shall mean the clerk of the Superior Court for the unit in which the action is pending. (4) “Superior Judge” means any Superior Judge presiding in a pending action or authorized by these rules to act in particular circumstances. (5) “County,” “territorial unit,” and “circuit” mean “unit” of the Superior Court established by the Supreme Court pursuant to 4 V.S.A. § 30(b). (6) “Court,” when not used in the sense intended in paragraph (2) of this subdivision, means the appropriate division in the appropriate unit of the Superior Court established by the Supreme Court pursuant to 4 V.S.A. § 30(b) or a judicial tribunal established under the law of another state. (7) “Term” shall have the meaning ascribed to it in 4 V.S.A. § 115. (8) “Case manager” means a case manager provided to the Family Division pursuant to 4 V.S.A. § 691(a).
Vt. R. Fam. Proc. 13
Added Aug. 22, 1991, eff. Nov. 1, 1991; amended Aug. 29, 1995, eff. Dec. 1, 1995; July 1, 2010, eff. July 1, 2010.
