Montgomery County, PA

Domestic Relations Section is part of the Family Court. The Family Court is a division of the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas. The Family Court is the part of the court system which is there to help you work out problems such as divorce, support for children and spouses, temporary and permanent alimony, division of marital property, custody of children and protection from abuse. This manual explains how the Domestic Relations Section of the Family Court works. Although it has other duties, the Domestic Relations Section is mainly responsible for working with families to establish and collect support for children and spouses.

The Domestic Relations Section is made up of judges, administrators, hearing officers, domestic relations officers, an attorney, and various technical and clerical people. The staff of the Domestic Relations Section is assisted by a large computer which is used to track cases, keep financial records, and is a tool which helps in the enforcement of support orders. The employees in the Domestic Relations Section are trained to help people make the best decisions possible about support and related issues. They recognize that these decisions are often emotional and difficult to make.

When the people involved, whom the court refers to as "the parties", are unable to agree about support, the Domestic Relations staff will recommend an amount of money, insurance coverage, etc. to the parties and to the Judges of the Court. These recommendations are based on the law and on much training and experience of the staff.