§ 466 - Procedure - Vermont Statutes

§ 466. Procedure

(a) A proceeding before a magistrate shall, in cases involving child support, be initiated by the filing of a petition. If a proceeding for divorce, annulment or separation has been commenced before the family court, the magistrate shall have jurisdiction to determine a temporary amount of child support on the basis of the complaint or petition filed in family court.

(b) A magistrate hearing shall be conducted according to rules adopted by the supreme court, subject to review by the judicial rules committee. The rules shall include post-judgment procedures and deadlines for the establishment of support orders which comply with the requirements of federal law.

(c) The Vermont Rules of Evidence shall apply to magistrate proceedings, except that evidence not admissible under those rules may be admitted if it is of a type commonly relied upon by reasonably prudent persons in the conduct of their affairs and is not precluded by statute or privilege.

(d) Witnesses shall be sworn. Hearings shall be electronically recorded. The magistrate shall assist the parties in developing relevant and reliable evidence.

(e) The family court clerk shall provide for personal service or shall mail to the respondent, at one or more of the addresses supplied by the respondent, by certified mail, return receipt requested and delivery restricted to the addressee, the expense being paid by the petitioner, a notice signed by the clerk. If acceptance of service is refused, the clerk may serve the notice on the respondent by sending it to the respondent by ordinary first class mail and by certifying that such service has been made. In the alternative, the clerk may provide for mail service as provided in V.R.C.P. 4( l). (Added 1989, No. 221 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 1990.)