Rule 1910.25. Enforcement. Support Order. Civil Contempt. Petition. Service. No Answer Required.

 (a)  Upon failure to comply with an order of support, a petition for civil contempt

   (1)  may be filed by the obligee at any time, or

   (2)  shall be filed by the domestic relations section

     (i)   immediately upon the accrual of arrearages in any amount for fifteen days where it is known at the outset that income cannot be attached; or

     (ii)   immediately upon learning that an order for income withholding pursuant to Rule 1910.21 has been ineffective, or within twenty days of failure to comply with the order of support, whichever is earlier.

   Official Note

   Except as provided in 23 Pa.C.S. §  4355 relating to suspension of licenses, an order entered pursuant to a contempt proceeding which establishes a rate of repayment on overdue support does not preclude the use of other remedies under Title 23 or these Rules for collecting overdue support more quickly, whenever feasible.

 (b)  The petition shall begin with an order of court in substantially the following form:

 [CAPTION]

 ORDER OF COURT

   Legal proceedings have been brought against you alleging that you have disobeyed an order of court for support.

   (1)  If you wish to defend against the claim set forth in the following pages, you may, but are not required to, file in writing with the court your defenses or objections.

   (2)  You,

 IF YOU DO NOT APPEAR IN PERSON,
THE COURT MAY
ISSUE A WARRANT FOR YOUR ARREST
AND YOU MAY BE COMMITTED TO JAIL.

   (3)  If the court finds that you have willfully failed to comply with its order for support, you may be found to be in contempt of court and committed to jail, fined or both.

 BY THE COURT:

   DATE OF
ORDER:

  YOU SHOULD TAKE THIS PAPER TO YOUR LAWYER AT ONCE. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A LAWYER, GO TO OR TELEPHONE THE OFFICE SET FORTH BELOW. THIS OFFICE CAN PROVIDE YOU WITH INFORMATION ABOUT HIRING A LAWYER. IF YOU CANNOT AFFORD TO HIRE A LAWYER, THIS OFFICE MAY BE ABLE TO PROVIDE YOU WITH INFORMATION ABOUT AGENCIES THAT MAY OFFER LEGAL SERVICES TO ELIGIBLE PERSONS AT A REDUCED FEE OR NO FEE.

   Official Note

   Neither Rule 1018.1 (Notice to Defend) nor Rule 1361 (Notice to Plead) apply to a petition for enforcement of support.

 (c)  The petition shall aver the facts alleged to constitute the failure to comply with the support order. The petition shall set forth the amount of support arrearages, if any, as provided by the domestic relations section. Unless specially ordered by the court, no answer to the petition is required.

 (d)  The petition shall be served upon the respondent

   (1)  by ordinary mail with the return address of the domestic relations section appearing thereon; or

   (2)  by any form of mail which requires the respondent to sign a receipt; or

   (3)  by a competent adult; or

   Official Note

   See Rule 76 for the definition of ‘‘competent adult.’’

   (4)  pursuant to special order of court. A respondent who attends the conference and/or hearing in person shall be deemed to have been served.

 (e)  The court may issue a bench warrant as provided by Rule 1910.13-1 for failure of the respondent to appear.

   The provisions of this Rule 1910.25 amended May 31, 2000, effective July 1, 2000, 30 Pa.B. 3155; amended March 18, 2004, effective June 16, 2004, 34 Pa.B. 1754. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (303061) to (303063).