Relates to the time-limit for appeals in all categories of family court cases, the official text

S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8298
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               May 12, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of A. P. CARROLL -- (at request of the Unified Court
   System) -- read once and referred to the Committee on Judiciary
 
 AN ACT to amend the family court act, in relation to the time limit  for
   appeals  in all categories of family court cases and for the filing of
   objections to support  magistrate  determinations  in  child  support,
   paternity and parentage proceedings in family court
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1.  Subdivision (e) of section 439 of the family court act, as
 amended by chapter 336 of the laws  of  2004,  is  amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   (e)  The  determination of a support magistrate shall include findings
 of fact and, except  with  respect  to  a  determination  of  a  willful
 violation  of  an  order under subdivision three of section four hundred
 fifty-four of this article where commitment is recommended  as  provided
 in subdivision (a) of this section, a final order which shall be entered
 and  transmitted  to the parties. Specific written objections to a final
 order of a support magistrate may be filed  by  either  party  with  the
 court  within  thirty  days  after  receipt  of the order in court or by
 personal service, or, if the objecting party or parties did not  receive
 the  order in court or by personal service, thirty-five days after mail-
 ing OR ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION of the order to such party or parties.  A
 party  filing objections shall [serve] ARRANGE FOR THE SERVICE BY A NON-
 PARTY OVER THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN OF a copy of  such  objections  upon  the
 opposing party, who shall have thirteen days from such service to [serve
 and]  file  a written rebuttal to such objections, WHICH SHALL BE SERVED
 BY A NON-PARTY OVER THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN UPON THE OTHER PARTY.  Proof  of
 service  upon  the  opposing  party shall be filed with the court at the
 time of filing of objections and any rebuttal. Within [fifteen]  THIRTY-
 FIVE  days after the [rebuttal] OBJECTION is filed, [or the time to file
 such rebuttal has expired, whichever is applicable,]  the  judge,  based
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD08846-01-5
 A. 8298                             2
 
 upon  a  review  of  the  objections and the rebuttal, if any, shall (i)
 remand one or more issues of fact to the support magistrate, (ii)  make,
 with  or  without  holding  a  new hearing, [his or her] THE JUDGE'S own
 findings of fact and order, or (iii) deny the objections. Pending review
 of  the  objections  and  the rebuttal, if any, the order of the support
 magistrate shall be in full force and effect and no stay of  such  order
 shall  be  granted. In the event a new order is issued, payments made by
 the respondent in excess of the new order shall be applied as  a  credit
 to  future support obligations. The final order of a support magistrate,
 after objections and the rebuttal, if  any,  have  been  reviewed  by  a
 judge, may be appealed pursuant to article eleven of this act.
   § 2. Section 1113 of the family court act, as amended by chapter 41 of
 the laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows:
   §  1113. Time of appeal. An appeal under this article must be taken no
 later than thirty days after the service  by  a  party  or  the  child's
 attorney upon the appellant of any order from which the appeal is taken,
 thirty days from receipt of the order by the appellant in court or thir-
 ty-five days from the mailing OR ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION of the order to
 the appellant by the clerk of the court, whichever is earliest.
   All  such  orders shall contain the following statement in conspicuous
 print: "Pursuant to section 1113 of the family court act, an appeal must
 be taken within thirty days of receipt of  the  order  by  appellant  in
 court,  thirty-five days from the mailing  OR ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION of
 the order to the appellant by the clerk of the  court,  or  thirty  days
 after  service  by a party or attorney for the child upon the appellant,
 whichever is earliest." When service of the order is made by the  court,
 the  time to take an appeal shall not commence unless the order contains
 such statement and there is an official notation in the court record  as
 to the date and the manner of service of the order.
   § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
 it shall have become a law.