Rule 5:25-3. Child Support Hearing Officers

Rule 5:25-3. Child Support Hearing Officers

(a) Appointment. There shall be established within the Family Part of the Chancery
Division an Office of the Child Support Hearing Officer. The Office of the Child Support
Hearing Officer shall consist of a Chief Child Support Hearing Officer, and as many other
Child Support Hearing Officers as may be determined appropriate by the Supreme Court.
The Chief Child Support Hearing Officer and other Child Support Hearing Officers shall be
appointed by the Chief Justice and shall be under the direct supervision of the Family Part
Presiding Judge of the county in which the Child Support Hearing Officer is assigned. The
administrative supervision of the Child Support Hearing Officers shall be vested in the
Administrative Director of the Courts.

(b) Jurisdiction. The Child Support Hearing Officer shall hear and make
recommendations that the court enter orders based thereon in all Title IV-D, Federal Social
Security Act, cases concerning:

(1) Establishment of Paternity or the Parent/Child relationship only when the
matter is uncontested. When the issue of paternity is contested, the Child Support Hearing
Officer shall refer the paternity issue to the court.

(2) Establishment of the obligation and amount of child support.

(3) Establishment of any other financial obligation regarding the care and
maintenance of children as well as an obligation to provide medical coverage.

(4) Modification of the obligation of child support.

(5) Enforcement of the obligation of child support or any other support order.

(6) The establishment, modification and enforcement of support pursuant to
N.J.S.A. 2A:4-30.124 to 2A:4-30.201, the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act.

(7) If any establishment case involves a complex issue requiring judicial
resolution, the Child Support Hearing Officer shall recommend a temporary order
establishing the obligation of child support pending referral of the matter to the court.

(8) Advanced written and oral notice shall be given to the parties that their
case will be heard by a Child Support Hearing Officer, and they may object to the
recommendation of the Child Support Hearing Officer, which will result in an immediate
hearing before a Superior Court Judge pursuant to Rule 5:25-3(d)(2).

(c) Duties, Powers, and Responsibilities. The Child Support Hearing Officer shall
be responsible to the Presiding Judge in the establishment, modification, and enforcement
of all Title IV-D child-support actions. Such Child Support Hearing Officers shall serve at
the pleasure of the Chief Justice and his/her powers and duties shall be prescribed in the
order appointing him/her or in the Rules of Procedure of the Family Part. Such Child
Support Hearing Officers shall:

(1) regulate all proceedings before him/her;

(2) take testimony and establish a record;

(3) do all acts and take all measures necessary or proper for the efficient
performance of his/her duties;

(4) recommend that the court order the production before him/her of books,
papers, vouchers, documents, and writings;

(5) rule upon the admissibility of evidence;

(6) recommend the issuance of summonses or subpoenas for the
appearance of parties or witnesses, administer oaths, examine parties and witnesses
under oath;

(7) accept voluntary acknowledgment of support liability and stipulations or
agreements setting the amount of child support to be paid and/or admitting paternity;

(8) evaluate evidence and make recommendations as to the establishment
and enforcement of child-support orders;

(9) recommend entry of default judgments in appropriate cases;

(10) in appropriate cases and with the immediate review by the court, make
written findings, and based thereon may:

(A) recommend that the court adjudicate that a person has failed to comply
with an order in violation of litigant's rights, and recommend incarceration for failure to
comply with an order of the court that provided for the payment of support or the
performance of any other act;

(B) request that a witness or party be brought directly before the court for a
judicial hearing;

(11) recommend that the court issue a warrant upon the failure of a party or a
witness to appear after having been properly served, and recommend a release amount to
satisfy full arrears;

(12) recommend that the court order a party to participate in blood or genetic
tests for the purpose of establishing paternity.

(d) Review by Presiding Judge or Designee; Appeal; Time; Record.

(1) The Presiding Judge of the Family Part or a Judge designated by the
Presiding Judge shall immediately review all recommendations of a Child Support Hearing
Officer. Appropriate recommendations shall be signed and ratified by the Judge.

(2) A party not accepting a recommendation entered by the Child Support
Hearing Officer shall be entitled to an immediate appeal of the recommendation to the
Presiding Judge of the Family Part or a Judge designated by the Presiding Judge who
shall conduct a hearing forthwith. The appeal may be made by either party, and shall be
heard de novo not on the record below. Failure of a party to request a de novo appeal on
the day of the hearing shall require the filing of a motion before further relief can be
considered.

(3) Orders of the Family Part entered as a result of a Child Support Hearing
Officer's recommendation shall be recognized as a final order of the Superior Court.
Copies of the orders shall be provided to the parties or their attorneys. Orders may be
appealed to the Appellate Division of the Superior Court within the time and according to
the procedures prescribed by the Rules for appeals to the Appellate Division. The time for
appeal shall run from the date of the signing of the order by a Judge of the Superior Court.

(e) Service. All rules concerning service of notice and due process rights applicable
to the Family Part shall be applicable to the Child Support Hearing Officer hearings.

(f) Standards and Guidelines. The Child Support Hearing Officer shall use any
support-setting guidelines that may be approved by the Supreme Court.

(g) Qualifications and Compensation. The qualifications and compensation for
the Chief Child Support Hearing Officer and other Child Support Hearing Officers shall be
established by the Administrative Director of the Courts, subject to the approval of the
Supreme Court.

Note: Source-new. Adopted September 24, 1985 to be effective October 1, 1985; paragraph (c)(12) adopted June 28, 1996 to be effective September 1, 1996; paragraph (b)(6) amended May 25, 1999 to be effective July 1, 1999; paragraphs (c)(10) and (c)(11) amended June 15, 2007 to be effective September 1, 2007; paragraph (d)(2) amended July 16, 2009 to be effective September 1, 2009; subparagraph (b)(6) amended July 28, 2017 to be effective September 1, 2017.
Rule 5:25-4. Domestic Violence Hearing Officers Domestic Violence Hearing Officers may be appointed by the Judiciary to handle and make recommendations in matters under the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act (N.J.S.A. 2C:25-17 et seq.) in accordance with the provisions of that Act, Rule 5:7A ("Domestic Violence: Restraining Orders"), and such other policies and procedures as are
applicable.