Family Masters

Notice

Effective May 2, 2022, All proceedings, conferences, and hearings in the Masters Office will be live and in-person again.  Welcome back!!

Duties

The masters conduct settlement-oriented conferences in equitable division of marital property, alimony modification, child custody and in certain matrimonial cases which require management of special relief and discovery problems. The masters conduct both settlement conferences and record hearings in cases where the grounds for divorce or annulment are contested.

Settlement Program

The settlement program helps parties reach agreements disposing of disputes without enduring the expense and emotional distress associated with formal litigation. The settlement program assists the Court by reducing and limiting the formal litigation caseload, and by providing recommendations from staff with extensive knowledge and experience in family law to assist in disposition of cases that do not settle.

Hearings

The masters also review family court pleadings before orders or rules are entered or hearings set, and review all divorce files prior to entry of decree. All family court hearings except for support and protection from abuse are scheduled by the masters office. Consolidation of these functions in the Family Masters office helps ensure uniform compliance with procedural rules of court, identification of cases which may require special management, and identification of trends, such as an increase in a certain type of case or certain type of problem.

Family Court Emergency Filing Procedure

  1. File your emergency pleading with the Prothonotary. All emergency pleadings get reviewed by the Masters Office and get handled or scheduled accordingly.
  2. If you want A JUDGE TO REVIEW YOUR EMEGENCY, then walk a time-stamped courtesy copy down to the Masters Office after filing and request a judicial review. Providing your pleading is procedurally correct, it will be forwarded to a Judge that same day.

Do not walk your emergency to a Judge on the sixth floor or to a Judge in a courtroom. Do not send or transmit your emergency to a Judge in any way that counters the above procedure.

Resources

For information regarding Bucks County Rules of Civil Procedure Number 1915.11-1.1 - Parenting Coordination, please go to the Bucks County Local Rules. You can also view the Parenting Coordinator Roster (PDF).