California

Family Law

Family Law

Rule 5.125 – Preparation, service, and submission of order after hearing

The court may prepare the order after hearing and serve copies on the parties or their attorneys. Alternatively, the court may order one of the parties or attorneys to prepare the proposed order as provided in these rules. The court may also modify the timelines and procedures in this rule when appropriate to the case.

(a) In general

The term “party” or “parties” includes both self-represented persons and persons represented by an attorney of record. The procedures in this rule requiring a party to perform action related to the preparation, service, and submission of an order after hearing include the party’s attorney of record.

(b) Submission of proposed order after hearing to the court

Within 10 calendar days of the court hearing, the party ordered to prepare the proposed order must:

(1) Serve the proposed order to the other party for approval; or
(2) If the other party did not appear at the hearing or the matter was uncontested, submit the proposed order directly to the court without the other party’s approval. A copy must also be served to the other party or attorney.
(c) Other party approves or rejects proposed order after hearing

(1) Within 20 calendar days from the court hearing, the other party must review the proposed order to determine if it accurately reflects the orders made by the court and take one of the following actions:

(A) Approve the proposed order by signing and serving it on the party or attorney who drafted the proposed order; or
(B) State any objections to the proposed order and prepare an alternate proposed order. Any alternate proposed order prepared by the objecting party must list the findings and orders in the same sequence as the proposed order. After serving any objections and the alternate proposed order to the party or attorney, both parties must follow the procedure in (e).
(2) If the other party does not respond to the proposed order within 20 calendar days of the court hearing, the party ordered to prepare the proposed order must submit the proposed order to the court without approval within 25 calendar days of the hearing date. The correspondence to the court and to the other party must include:

(A) The date the proposed order was served on the other party;
(B) The other party’s reasons for not approving the proposed order, if known;
(C) The date and results of any attempts to meet and confer, if relevant; and
(D) A request that the court sign the proposed order.
(d) Failure to prepare proposed order after hearing

(1) If the party ordered by the court to prepare the proposed order fails to serve the proposed order to the other party within 10 calendar days from the court hearing, the other party may prepare the proposed order and serve it to the party or attorney whom the court ordered to prepare the proposed order.
(2) Within 5 calendar days from service of the proposed order, the party who had been ordered to prepare the order must review the proposed order to determine if it accurately reflects the orders made by the court and take one of the following actions:

(A) Approve the proposed order by signing and serving it to the party or attorney who drafted the proposed order; or
(B) State any objections to the proposed order and prepare an alternate proposed order. Any alternate proposed order by the objecting party must list the findings and orders in the same sequence as the proposed order. After serving any objections and the alternate proposed order to the other party or attorney, both parties must follow the procedure in (e).
(3) If the party does not respond as described in (2), the party who prepared the proposed order must submit the proposed order to the court without approval within 5 calendar days. The cover letter to the court and to the other party or attorney must include:

(A) The facts relating to the preparation of the order, including the date the proposed order was due and the date the proposed order was served to the party whom the court ordered to draft the proposed order;
(B) The party’s reasons for not preparing or approving the proposed order, if known;
(C) The date and results of any attempts to meet and confer, if relevant; and
(D) A request that the court sign the proposed order.
(e) Objections to proposed order after hearing

(1) If a party objects to the proposed order after hearing, both parties have 10 calendar days following service of the objections and the alternate proposed order after hearing to meet and confer by telephone or in person to attempt to resolve the disputed language.
(2) If the parties reach an agreement, the proposed findings and order after hearing must be submitted to the court within 10 calendar days following the meeting.
(3) If the parties fail to resolve their disagreement after meeting and conferring, each party will have 10 calendar days following the date of the meeting to submit to the court and serve on each other the following documents:

(A) A proposed Findings and Order After Hearing (FL-340) (and any form attachments);
(B) A copy of the minute order or official transcript of the court hearing; and
(C) A cover letter that explains the objections, describes the differences in the two proposed orders, references the relevant sections of the transcript or minute order, and includes the date and results of the meet-and-confer conferences.
(f) Unapproved order signed by the court; requirements

Before signing a proposed order submitted to the court without the other party’s approval, the court must first compare the proposed order after hearing to the minute order; official transcript, if available; or other court record.

(g) Service of order after hearing signed by the court

After the proposed order is signed by the court, the court clerk must file the order. The party who prepared the order must serve an endorsed-filed copy to the other party.

Cal. R. Ct. 5.125

Rule 5.125 adopted effective January 1, 2013.