§ Rule 1915.4-1 Alternative Hearing Procedures for Partial Custody or Visitation Actions
Rule 1915.4-1. Alternative Hearing Procedures for Partial Custody or Visitation Actions
(a) A custody action shall proceed as prescribed by Rule 1915.4-3 unless the court, by local rule, adopts the alternative hearing procedure authorized by Rule 1915.4-2 pursuant to which an action for partial custody or visitation may be heard by a hearing officer, except as provided in subdivision (b) below.
(b) Promptly after the parties' initial contact with the court as set forth in Rule 1915.4(a), a party may move the court for a hearing before a judge, rather than a hearing officer, in an action for partial custody or visitation where:
(1) there are complex questions of law, fact or both, or
(2) the parties certify to the court that there are serious allegations affecting the child's welfare.
(c) The president judge or the administrative judge of the family division of each county shall certify that custody proceedings generally are conducted in accordance with either Rule 1915.4-2 or Rule 1915.4-3. The certification shall be filed with the Domestic Relations Procedural Rules Committee of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and shall be substantially in the following form:
I hereby certify that __________ County conducts its custody proceedings in accordance with Rule ___.
________________________________________________________________________________
(President Judge)
________________________________________________________________________________
(Administrative Judge)
Note: Pursuant to Rule 1915.4-1, the following counties have certified to the Domestic Relations Procedural Rules Committee that their custody proceedings generally are conducted in accordance with the rule specified below:
COUNTY
RULE
Adams
1915.4-3
Allegheny
1915.4-2
Armstrong
1915.4-3
Beaver
1915.4-3
Bedford
1915.4-3
Berks
1915.4-3
Blair
1915.4-3
Bradford
1915.4-2
Bucks
1915.4-3
Butler
1915.4-3
Cambria
1915.4-2
Cameron
1915.4-3
Carbon
1915.4-2
Centre
1915.4-3
Chester
1915.4-3
Clarion
1915.4-3
Clearfield
1915.4-3
Clinton
1915.4-3
Columbia
1915.4-3
Crawford
1915.4-3
Cumberland
1915.4-3
Dauphin
1915.4-3
Delaware
1915.4-2
Elk
1915.4-3
Erie
1915.4-3
Fayette
1915.4-2
Forest
1915.4-2
Franklin
1915.4-3
Fulton
1915.4-3
Greene
1915.4-2
Huntingdon
1915.4-3
Indiana
1915.4-3
Jefferson
1915.4-3
Juniata
1915.4-3
Lackawanna
1915.4-2
Lancaster
1915.4-3
Lawrence
1915.4-3
Lebanon
1915.4-3
Lehigh
1915.4-2
Luzerne
1915.4-2
Lycoming
1915.4-3
McKean
1915.4-3
Mercer
1915.4-3
Mifflin
1915.4-3
Monroe
1915.4-3
Montgomery
1915.4-3
Montour
1915.4-3
Northampton
1915.4-3
Northumberland
1915.4-3
Perry
1915.4-3
Philadelphia
1915.4-2
Pike
1915.4-2
Potter
1915.4-3
Schuylkill
1915.4-2
Snyder
1915.4-3
Somerset
1915.4-3
Sullivan
1915.4-3
Susquehanna
1915.4-3
Tioga
1915.4-2
Union
1915.4-3
Venango
1915.4-3
Warren
1915.4-2
Washington
1915.4-3
Wayne
1915.4-2
Westmoreland
1915.4-3
Wyoming
1915.4-3
York
1915.4-3