The Order to Show Cause (OSC)
Process
Although we go into some detail in this webpage about the
Order to Show Cause process, how to select, fill out, file and serve Family
Law forms, and how to prepare Orders After Hearing, as with all the other
webpages in this series, the same advice holds true:
You are
at risk when you represent yourself in a court of law. If you cannot afford
to obtain counsel to represent you, at least seek some form of legal advice
before you set forth on your own.
Please see the court's page
about Lawyer Referral Services for lawyer referrals within your
area.
See also the court's webpage
on Resources and Assistance for further resources for those who
represent themselves.
When you begin your own case for divorce or paternity
nothing automatically happens just because you file a Petition to start
the case or file a Response in answer to a Petition that has been served
upon you. If you want orders while you are waiting to finalize your case,
you must also file a motion called an Order to Show Cause (OSC) to get
a court hearing for your pretrial orders. An Order to Show Cause is a court
order directing the other party in your case to appear in Court and show
any reason why you should not be given the orders you are asking for. You
can use an Order to Show Cause to obtain many different kinds of orders
relating to child custody, child support, spousal support, payment of bills,
temporary use of property, property protection, Domestic Violence and other
restraining orders, and ordering the other person to pay all or part of
your attorney fees and costs. An Order to Show Cause may also be used to
make new orders when existing orders in the case are no longer appropriate.
Some terminology is important. The person who starts a
case by filing a Petition will always be the Petitioner throughout the
life of the case (which could be 18 or more years, depending on the age
of the youngest child, the length of the marriage, or the number of years
until retirement). The person who did not file the case to begin with will
always be known as the Respondent. Either the Petitioner or the Respondent
may bring an Order to Show Cause at any time after a case has been filed.
The person who brings an Order to Show Cause is known as the "moving party"
no matter whether he or she is the Petitioner or the Respondent. The party
who did not bring the Order to Show Cause is known as the "Responding Party."
In this webpage you will find answers to commonly asked
questions about the OSC process such as:
What is an Order to Show Cause and under
what circumstances is it used?
What forms do I use to process my Order
to Show Cause?
What steps do I take to get my Order
to Show Cause into court?
How do I conduct myself on the day of
the hearing?
What do I do when the hearing is over?
How do I oppose an Order to Show
Cause that has been served on me?
Initial and Modification
OSC's
The Family Law departments of the superior court normally
categorize Orders to Show Cause into two types:
-
Initial Order to Show Cause
-- the OSC that is filed to obtain temporary orders while the parties are
waiting to have their case finalized by a judgment that will contain permanent
orders
-
Modification Order
to Show Cause -- OSC's that are filed after some orders have already
been made in the case
-
Normally, modification OSC's are filed after there has been
a judgment dissolving a marriage, granting a legal separation, or establishing
the paternity of a child. With very rare exceptions, a party who seeks
to make any changes to an existing judgment (or to any orders that have
already modified a judgment) will be required to show that after the last
order was made there has been a change of circumstances that
requires new and different orders.
-
In general, the only type of post-judgment modification OSC
that does not require a showing of changed circumstances is where an existing
child support order has been entered into by agreement acknowledging that
the level of support voluntarily has been set lower than state guidelines.
-
In general, orders characterizing and dividing property in
a judgment cannot be changed at all even if there has been
a change of circumstances since the orders were made.
-
The only exceptions to the nonmodifiability rule for property
orders would be
-
(1) where the court has reserved jurisdiction to make future
orders concerning the property (such as where the sale of real property
will take place after the judgment has been entered or a pension plan division
needs to be administered at or about the time of retirement) -- actually
these are not modified orders, but further orders to make
earlier orders effective;
-
(2) where the moving party is able to show that the original
orders resulted from mistake, fraud, duress, or failure of the other party
to make required disclosures at the time the property orders were made.
There are strict time limits for such applications, however. (See Family
Code sections 2120-2129.)
-
In some situations a modification OSC that seeks to change
a pretrial order before a final judgment is entered does
not require a showing of changed circumstances. However, the court will
still require a very good reason to be shown if a party seeks to rearrange
temporary orders that have already been made regarding the same circumstances.
Relitigating matters that have already been decided always carries the
potential that the party who brings the matter back to court will be required
to pay the other party's attorney fees for the further proceedings.
Forms
It is necessary for
you to download and install the free Adobe Acrobat viewer to access the
Judicial Council forms from their website. Click the image below to do
so. |
|
If you are the party filing the Order To Show Cause (the
"moving party"), you will need to complete some or all of the following
forms.
Every OSC requires the following
two forms, no matter what orders you are asking the court to make:
-
Order
to Show Cause (form 1285.10) -- this is the face sheet which shows
where and when the hearing on the OSC will take place
-
Application
for Order and Supporting Declaration (form 1285.20) -- this form
summarizes the orders that you are asking the court to make -- add more
pages as needed labeled as an attachment to items 1-9 to describe in more
detail the specific orders you are proposing
-
It is very important that you complete
item 10 (facts in support of relief requested). If you do not give
sufficient factual details to support the orders that you are asking for,
the court cannot give you the orders you want. If there is not enough room
on the form to tell the facts that you want the court to know, attach more
pages labeled as an attachment to item 10. You must remember that many
judicial officers will limit your court hearing to the statements that
you and the other party make in your declarations and will not allow you
to present oral testimony at the hearing. Therefore, your factual
statement under item 10 of the application may be the only way you can
get the court to hear your side of the case.
-
Even if the judicial officer hearing your case does permit
oral testimony at the hearing, you should prepare as if it would not be
permitted. It is easier for you to prepare and present your case in a well
written application than it is to remember to say everything you want to
say at the hearing. Moreover, the other party is entitled to know in advance
of the hearing what you are going to be telling the court about the facts
of the case. So if you have left important facts out of your statement,
the judicial officer may not let you talk about them at the hearing in
order to avoid unfairness to the opposing party. You are entitled to the
same fairness, and you may object to the opposing party telling the court
facts that were not presented to you in a timely served and filed responsive
declaration.
-
(Often, to avoid unfairness to either party and to have a
full picture of the facts, the court may continue the hearing to allow
each party to serve the other with a complete factual statement. To avoid
such delays in having your case resolved, you should present all the important
facts in your written statement when you first file it.)
-
The statement must be complete and thorough -- but it also
must be concise. Do not ramble. Stick to the important points. Eliminate
everything that is not necessary. Remember that the judicial officer has
many papers to read every day. If you can tell all the important details
of your case in a well-organized statement of five pages or less, you will
make a far better impression than if you try to tell the court about everything
that went wrong in your relationship with the other person in a rambling
statement of 20 pages.
-
If you are asking to modify existing orders in your case,
make sure to fill out box "c" in items 1-4 (depending on which apply).
This identifies the order that you are asking to have modified and when
it was filed.
If you are asking the court to make
any order that requires the other person to pay you or your attorney money
(Child Support, Spousal Support, contribution to Attorney Fees, payment
of outstanding bills, etc.), you must also prepare the following forms:
-
Income
and Expense Declaration (form 1285.50) which has three additional
pages:
Instead of the long form Income and Expense Declaration,
in some cases you may file in its place:
-
Financial
Statement (Simplified) (form 1285.52) -- You should carefully read
the instructions on the second page of the form to see
whether you are eligible to use the simplified form or whether
you are required to use the long form because of the nature of your case
or the status of your income. Although this is a simpler form to fill out,
it does not give the court as much information as the long form. Even if
you are eligible to use it you should carefully consider whether you would
rather fill out the long form to give the court a more complete picture
of your financial situation.
You will also need the following forms
to be served on the other party along with copies of the documents described
above:
-
Responsive
Declaration to Order to Show Cause or Notice of Motion (form 1285.40)
-- as the moving party you must serve this blank form on the other party
(the "responding party") so that he or she may respond to your OSC. Do
not
fill out the form for the other party except to put in the name of the
case, the case number, and the date, time, and location where the hearing
will take place (which will have been given to you by the clerk)
-
Blank financial statements
(either the longer form 1285.50 series or the simplified form 1285.52)
for the other party to fill out, serve on you, and file along with his
or her Responsive Declaration
-
Proof
of Personal Service (form 1285.84) -- if the other person does
not show up for the hearing, you will be required to file this form to
establish that the other person knew about the hearing and that the court
has the power to make the orders you want. If you cannot prove the other
person was served with all the required court forms, your hearing will
not take place. This form, correctly filled out, is the proof you need.
Steps
in Filing, Serving, and Litigating the Order to Show Cause
How to prepare, file, and serve
the OSC Forms
-
Step 1, prepare the forms
-
What case number goes on the form?
-
If you have an existing marital dissolution or paternity
case, no matter how old, be sure to use the same case title and file number.
If you were the Respondent or Defendant when the case began, you will always
be referred to that way even if you are now the "moving party" in a new
OSC. If that is the case, be sure not to caption your papers showing yourself
as the Petitioner or you will cause the court and yourself unnecessary
confusion and potential loss of documents in the clerk's filing system.
-
If you are commencing a new proceeding for divorce, legal
separation, annulment, or paternity and your Petition is being filed at
the same time as your Initial OSC for pretrial orders, the clerk will stamp
the case number on all of the court forms when you present them for filing
-- so you must leave the case number blank until you are assigned one.
-
If your case involves a request for child custody and/or
visitation orders, and if either you or the other parent have not previously
attended the court's Parents and Children Together
(P.A.C.T.) classes, at the time you file your OSC the clerk's office
will give you a notice of the requirement that each party file a certificate
of completion of the classes before the court will hear your case. This
notice must be served on the other party along with all of the other papers
in your OSC package. Please go to the provided link to learn more.
-
Regardless of whether you and/or the other parent have attended
the P.A.C.T. classes, any application for new or different child custody/visitation
orders requires that you and the other parent shall attend a mediation
session in Conciliation Court
before the judicial officer may be permitted by law to decide the dispute.
It is intended that each parent complete the P.A.C.T. classes before going
to mediation, and it is necessary in most courthouse locations to schedule
a Conciliation Court appointment a month or more in advance. So consider
carefully how much time you and the other parent will need to complete
these requirements before you choose a hearing date offered by the clerk's
office when you file your OSC. If the hearing date is too soon to allow
the P.A.C.T. classes and mediation to be completed before the hearing,
your trip to court on the day of the hearing will be a waste of time, because
the judicial officer most likely will continue the matter until the preliminary
procedures are completed by the parents.
-
If you have obtained a Conciliation Court appointment before
filing your OSC, you will fill in item 2.c on your Order
to Show Cause (form 1285.10) showing the date, time, and address
of your Conciliation Court appointment
-
In filling out the Income
and Expense Declaration (form 1285.50) or the Simplified
Financial Statement (form 1285.52) it is very important that you
enter a good faith estimate of what the other party earns or is capable
of earning before taxes on a monthly basis
(that is, his or her gross monthly
income). You should base this on your past or present knowledge of their
employment, income, and/or education, training, and experience. If you
leave this blank or put in useless information such as "unknown," and if
the other person does not respond to your OSC in writing or appear personally
at the hearing (this is known as "defaulting"), the court will have no
basis for making a child or spousal support award under the guidelines.
Your estimate of an actual dollar amount of income for the other party
will allow the court to make a support order based on that amount of income
if the other party does not respond to your OSC.
-
If you have difficulty filling out the Income and Expense
Declaration or any of the forms relating to child support or spousal support,
or if you do not know what records to bring to court, seek assistance from
the Family Law Facilitator.
-
Make an original for filing with the court and three copies
of the completed papers (for you, the other party, and one extra).
-
Step 2, file the forms
-
Take the set of completed and blank forms to the filing window
of the Clerk's office of the appropriate district.
-
The clerk will assign a hearing date for your order to show
cause, enter it on all your copies, and stamp the case number on all your
copies if you have filed a brand new case.
-
Step 3, serve the documents
-
At least 21 calendar days before
the Court hearing (or less if specified by the judicial
officer) you must have a conformed copy (a copy which bears the clerk's
stamp showing an original has been filed) of the following documents delivered
personally to the other party (and to the District Attorney Family Support
Division if it is a District Attorney case or the District Attorney is
enforcing the child or spousal support order):
-
Order To Show Cause;
-
Application for Order and Supporting Declaration;
-
a blank Responsive Declaration;
if you are seeking child custody/visitation orders,
-
a notice to attend P.A.C.T. classes (unless the responding
party has already fulfilled this requirement)
and if you are seeking financial orders,
-
Income and Expense Declaration or Simplified Financial Statement
(the one you filled out);
-
a blank Income and Expense Declaration (to be filled out
by the other party)
. Service must be done by:
-
any adult (over the age of 18 years) who is not a party to
the case
-
a professional process server (see the telephone book)
-
the sheriff's department in the county where the responding
party lives (there is a Los
Angeles County Sheriff's Department civil process unit in most
Los Angeles County Courthouses)
Whoever delivers the papers must complete a Proof
of Service declaring that he or she has delivered the described
papers to the other party and showing the date and time of the delivery
and the address where the delivery took place.
-
In some instances the other party may be served by mail or
in some other manner (Code
of Civ.Proc., secs. 1010-1020); however, you should seek legal
advice as to whether these forms of service apply in your case before attempting
to use them. (When in doubt, always choose personal hand-to-hand service
as that is always a proper method.) If mail service or some other method
of service is allowed, you must still have another adult not connected
with the case put the papers into an envelope addressed to the other party
(so that the person doing the serving can see what documents are being
delivered) and have that person deposit the sealed and stamped envelope
into the mail, fax or other form of delivery. He or she will then fill
out a Proof
of Service by Mail form, sign it under penalty of perjury, and
give it back to you for filing in court.
-
Please note: If the other party
is already represented by an attorney in the proceeding, you must
serve the attorney with your order to show cause even if you
also serve the party (Code
of Civil Procedure section 1015), and if your order to show cause seeks
to modify an existing judgment or any order that was made after that judgment
was entered, you must serve the party
even if you also serve the attorney (Family
Code section 215).
-
If you are just beginning your case and are confident that
the other party will willingly accept service of process, perhaps the cheapest
and easiest form of service is by Notice
and Acknowledgement of Receipt of the Summons and Petition, of
the Order to Show Cause, and the other included forms. Using this form
of service, you do not need to have a third person perform the mailing
because the proof of service will be the other party's signature on the
Notice and Acknowledgement form which he or she will return to you. Service
is complete on the date the other party signs that form. If you decide
to use this form of service, you should send the papers at least a month
before the hearing date to allow for delivery times to and from the other
party.
-
Step 4, file the Proof of Service
-
You must file the original Proof of Service with the Court
Clerk as soon as possible and before the hearing. Bring a conformed
copy (showing the filing stamp) of the Proof of Service with you to the
hearing.
-
Step 5, serve and file a Reply Declaration
if you are served with a Responsive Declaration
-
If the other party serves you with a Responsive Declaration,
as the "moving party" in the OSC, you have the opportunity to serve and
file a Reply Declaration to counter any factual statements made
in the Responsive Declaration with which you disagree or to provide reasons
why the orders requested by the Responding party are inappropriate. You
may use a Responsive
Declaration to Order to Show Cause or Notice of Motion (form 1285.40)
as the face page of your Reply Declaration, attaching your written statements
to it. (Just strike out the word "Responsive" in the title and replace
it with the word "Reply" to make clear to the court what the document is.)
-
If you decide to prepare a Reply Declaration, you must file
it with the court and serve it on the other party not later than five
(5) calendar days before the hearing. You must choose a manner of
serving the Reply Declaration that will guarantee that it is in the other
party's hands not later than the day after you file
the Reply Declaration with the court. (See Code
of Civ.Proc., sec. 1005.)
How to Conduct
Yourself at the Hearing
-
Step 6, attend the Court hearing
-
Come early to the Court hearing. Dress appropriately as you
would for any other serious and important occasion affecting your life.
Look for your name on the court calendar posted outside the courtroom to
make sure that your case is listed as being on the court's schedule for
this date and time. If it is not listed, and your papers indicate you have
the right date and time, show your papers to the clerk or bailiff inside
the courtroom. Always check in with the clerk or bailiff to let the court
know you are present even if your case is listed on the calendar.
-
Do not forget to bring copies of all papers in your case,
your copy of the filed Proof of Service, and any supporting documents you
may be required to submit as evidence to support your claims.
-
If your case involves child support or spousal support, you
must present pay stubs for the last three pay
periods and tax returns for the two previous years (these
are required pursuant to both California
law and Local
Rule 14.6), child care receipts, and anything else that will help
prove the information in your Income and Expense Declaration. If you have
documents in your possession that would prove the other party's earnings
and/or earning capacity, you should bring those too. If you have any witnesses,
they should also be present.
-
Direct all your comments to the judicial officer and do not
directly address the other party while you are both standing in front of
the bench.
-
Let the other party make a fool of himself or herself by
immature and argumentative behavior. If you do not join in, you will score
big points with the judicial officer hearing your matter.
-
You are your own lawyer. Act calm, cool, professional, and
prepared. The judicial officer does not want to hear your life story, the
history of your marriage and separation, your emotional problems, or how
awful the other person has been to you. Concentrate on the most important
points that will get you the results you want and "don't sweat the small
stuff."
How to prepare
the Order After Hearing
-
Step 7, after the hearing
After the hearing is over you must write the Court's orders on the following
documents as appropriate:
Depending on the orders that were granted in your case, you
will write each of them on one or more of the following forms, adding further
attachment pages if the court's orders are more extensive than can be described
in the forms:
(You may access all California court forms at the
Judicial
Council Forms website.)
In all child support orders
it is also necessary to attach the following two forms in the Order After
Hearing (there is nothing to fill out as they are completely preprinted
informational forms):
and it is also necessary for each party to fill out a
-
Child
Support Case Registry Form (form 1285.92) which will be used to
register the order in a computer database for future enforcement. This
form is not to be attached to the Order After Hearing but is separately
presented to the clerk.
You will also bring to court either or both of the following
forms (depending on whether you have child support orders, spousal support
orders, or both) with all information filled out except the amount
of support which will be filled in after the hearing. Such form or forms
are necessary for you to collect support payments directly from the other
party's employer or other source of income:
It will be up to you to have
a copy of the appropriate wage assignment order or orders served on the
paying party's employer. If this is a modification proceeding
with a wage and earnings assignment already in effect, you must mark it
as having modified an earlier assignment order. If you are the recipient
who has obtained an increase in support, or if you are the payor who has
obtained a decrease in support, it is in your interest to serve the employer
as soon as possible with the new assignment form as the amount withheld
by the employer under a previous wage assignment will not change until
the employer is given notice by service of the new assignment order.
If done the same day, submit all of these prepared forms
to the Courtroom Clerk. If you have not prepared them in advance and would
like assistance in preparing them, and if any of your orders involve child
support or spousal support, ask the judicial officer if he or she will
refer you to the Family Law Facilitator
that day. If there is no time for the Facilitator to see you that day,
you can make an appointment for a later day. If your Order After Hearing
and other necessary post-hearing forms are not prepared for filing on the
day of the hearing, deliver or mail them to the Clerk's Office with a stamped
self-addressed envelope, where they will be forwarded to the judicial officer
for signature and filing and a copy will be returned to you. Before you
leave court on the day of your hearing, ask the courtroom clerk whether
you should mail your completed forms to the courtroom or to the clerk's
office (as the preference may vary depending on the courtroom where your
case is heard).
You should have a complete copy of all orders that were
signed by the judicial officer served upon the responding party if
he or she did not come to the court hearing, and have your process server
fill out a Proof
of Service form describing the documents that were served and the
time, place, and manner of service. Although serving the paying party's
employer with a Wage and Earnings Assignment may be enough to start
the money flowing, filing a Proof of Service to establish that the
party himself or herself received the order will permit you to enforce
the order in other ways in the future that are not possible unless you
can prove the paying party knew what the terms of the order were.
-
If the opposing party was present at the hearing, it will
be necessary to obtain his or her signature on the Order After Hearing
approving it as an accurate statement of the orders that the court made.
Please review California Rules of Court, rule
391, below, for the requirements for preparing and serving a
proposed order:
Unless the parties waive notice or the court orders otherwise, the
party prevailing on any motion shall, within five days of the ruling, mail
or deliver a proposed order to the other party for approval as to form.
Within five days after the mailing or delivery, the other party shall notify
the prevailing party as to whether or not the proposed order is approved
as to form. The opposing party shall state any reasons for disapproval.
Failure to notify the prevailing party within the time required is an approval
of the order as to form. Code of Civil Procedure section 1013, relating
to service of papers by mail, does not apply to this rule. [¶] The
prevailing party shall promptly transmit the proposed order to the court
together with a summary of any responses of the other parties. [¶]
If the prevailing party fails to prepare and submit a proposed order, any
other party may do so. [¶]
-
If you are the party who is required to approve or object
to an Order After Hearing prepared by the other party, please review Rule
391 above to learn your responsibilities. Your signature on the
proposed orders does not mean that you agree that the orders that the court
made should have been made. Your signature is necessary only for the purpose
of establishing that you agree that the written Order After Hearing correctly
states what orders were made in court. You protect yourself from an Order
After Hearing that incorrectly states orders that were made, fails to state
orders that were made, or states orders that were never made, by serving
the party who prepared the Proposed Order with a timely written objection
to the Proposed Order, stating with precision exactly what is incorrect
about the other party's Proposed Order. If you take no action within the
time limits provided in Rule 391, the court will enter the proposed order
without your approval. If the party who is supposed to prepare the order
fails to do so, you may do so.
Responding
to an Order to Show Cause
If you have been served with papers directing you to appear
in court at a certain time and date to show cause why the other party should
not be given the orders that are being requested, you must fill out the
blank Responsive
Declaration (form 1285.40) and, if issues involving the payment
of money are presented, the blank Income
and Expense Declaration (form 1285.50), Income
Information (form 1285.50a), Expense
Information (form 1285.50b), and Child
Support Information (form 1285.50c), or the Simplified
Financial Statement (form 1285.52) which have been served on you.
If the moving party's application and order to show cause have been served
on you along with their completed income and expense declaration but these
blank forms have not been served on you, you may wish to simply download
the blank forms or obtain blank forms from the clerk's office and
fill them out rather than making an issue in court about not having been
provided the required forms.
-
You must
serve your completed forms on the other party (upon his
or her attorney rather than the party if he or she is represented) and
file the originals in the clerk's office not later than ten
(10) calendar days before the hearing.
-
You may serve your responsive declaration and supporting
papers by personal service upon the moving party if he or she represents
himself or herself; however, such service must
be upon the moving party's attorney and not upon the party if he or she
is represented by counsel (Code
of Civil Procedure section 1015).
-
You may also serve these papers by "facsimile transmission
[if agreed to in advance by counsel or by an unrepresented moving party],
express mail, or other means . . . reasonably calculated to ensure
delivery to the other party or parties not later
than the close of the next business day after the time the opposing
papers . . . are filed." Whatever form of service you choose --
even personal service -- must comply with the requirement that the moving
party receive your responsive papers not later than 10 calendar days before
the hearing and within one day after they are filed with the court. (See
Code
of Civ.Proc., sec. 1005(b))
-
As is true for the moving party, as the responding party
you
may not serve these documents yourself but must have someone
18 years or older and not connected with the case perform the serving of
the papers, whether by personal delivery or by express mailing. This person
must completely fill out a Proof
of Personal Service (form 1285.84) or Proof
of Service by Mail (form 1285.85). The applicable form must then
be returned to you for filing in court.
-
If a brand new case has been started by the other party and
you have been served with both an Order to Show Cause and a Summons and
Petition (in a divorce or legal separation case) or a Summons and Petition
to Establish Parental Relationship (in a Uniform Parentage Act [paternity]
case), merely filing your Responsive Declaration
to the Order to Show Cause on time does
satisfy the requirement of serving and filing the Response
(form 1282) (in a divorce case) or the Response
to the Petition (form 1296.65) (in a UPA case) within the 30 days
allowed from the date you were served with these documents. On the other
hand, merely filing your Response to
the Petition within 30 days from the date you were served does not
satisfy the requirement of serving and filing your Responsive
Declaration to the Order to Show Cause at least ten (10) calendar
days before the hearing. These are separate documents
that serve different purposes, and the time limits for serving and filing
them are different.
-
If you do not serve and file your
Responsive Declaration to the Order to Show Cause and accompanying
supporting papers at least 10 calendar days before the hearing, the Order
to Show Cause may be decided in court and pretrial orders may be made as
asked for by the moving party without any input
from you.
-
More importantly, if you do not
serve and file your Response to the Petition that started the
whole case within 30 days from the
date you were served as directed in the Summons, your default
may be taken and the entire case may be decided
without any input from you.
-
If the Order to Show Cause is to modify
an existing court order:
-
If you do not serve and file your
Responsive Declaration and supporting papers on time, the Order
to Show Cause may be decided in court and the existing court orders may
be modified as asked for by the moving party without
any input from you.
Issues That
Have Not Been Raised in the Order to Show Cause
If you want different orders on
the same issues that have been raised in the Order to Show
Cause that has been served on you, simply fill out the Responsive Declaration
and detail the orders that you would like. If you want orders concerning
a subject that has not been presented in the Order to Show
Cause, you may not ask for such orders simply by responding to the other
party's Order to Show Cause, but you must file your own Order to Show Cause
to obtain orders on the separate subject (unless you can obtain the moving
party's consent to address the additional issue(s) in the Order to Show
Cause proceeding that has been filed.) A common example is an Order to
Show Cause that raises only issues relating to Child Custody and Visitation.
A request for Child Support may not be made in the Responsive Declaration
unless the moving party consents to the additional issue being considered.
What Should You Know in Responding
to an Order to Show Cause
Please review the sections
above that relate to