A custody or divorce problem in the Stroudsburg area can involve more than one court process. A custody schedule, support complaint, divorce filing, and protection order should not be treated as interchangeable papers. Start by identifying the existing orders, the next scheduled event, and the issue that needs a decision.
Madsen Law Offices serves Monroe County from our office at 680 Wolf Avenue, Easton, PA 18042. We help organize the issues and records so the next step addresses the actual problem.
Schedule a Consultation with our Easton office. Call (484) 548-0529 or use our contact page. Bring the current orders and notices.
Custody starts with the right case and county
Monroe's Custody Department is part of the county's Court of Common Pleas in Stroudsburg. That does not mean every person with a Monroe mailing address can start or transfer a custody case there. The child's residence history, an existing order, and another state's involvement can affect the proper court.
Bring the current order and any older case information. A move does not automatically transfer an existing custody case. Before proposing a new schedule, we need to understand which court entered the order and whether another proceeding is already pending.
Our child-custody page explains the broader Pennsylvania framework. The Monroe courts guide provides additional county procedures and official resources.
Prepare for the conference and the pretrial requirements
Monroe's local rules describe a custody conference as a prehearing negotiation meeting with a court-appointed conference officer. Preparation should include a workable proposed schedule and the records needed to explain it. A conference and an evidentiary hearing have different purposes; the notice identifies what has actually been scheduled.
The local pretrial rule calls for a pretrial statement, completed parenting plan, and updated Criminal Record/Abuse History Verification no later than five days before the pretrial conference. Check the current order and any additional directions with counsel. This is a pretrial requirement, not a single deadline that applies to every custody paper.
A useful parenting proposal addresses school and work schedules, holidays, exchanges, travel, communication, and important decisions for the child. The county's form supplies prompts, but its sample clauses are not a substitute for an order or an agreement that fits the family.
Pennsylvania custody decisions turn on the child's best interests, with substantial weighted consideration for the specified safety factors. The law does not presume that custody belongs to a particular parent, and it does not guarantee an equal-time schedule. The proposal needs to address the child's circumstances rather than a promised percentage of time.
Education, participation, and safety need separate planning
The local rules require the Co-Parent Education Program, or COPE, in initial custody actions and divorce actions that include a custody count. Repeat attendance can also be ordered. Use the current court-linked registration instructions rather than an old class schedule.
Tell counsel about language needs, participation difficulties, and any protection order or restriction on contact. An online education option should not be confused with permission to attend a custody proceeding remotely. The court posts a form requesting telephone participation in a conciliation conference, but a request is not automatic permission to skip an in-person event.
Handle criminal and abuse-history disclosures through the proper confidential process. Keep sensitive reports and private family records together for counsel rather than treating every document as a public attachment.
An existing order may call for modification or enforcement
Changing an arrangement and addressing an alleged violation are different questions. A modification request should identify the existing order, the change sought, and the reasons. An enforcement issue requires comparison of the order's actual language with the specific conduct alleged.
A proposed move needs attention before it is carried out. Pennsylvania's relocation definition concerns a significant impairment of another person's custody rights; crossing a county or state line is not the only test. The required consent or court-approval process must be assessed against the actual proposal.
Divorce and economic claims follow their own procedure
A divorce case may involve financial disclosures, property issues, and disputed economic claims in addition to the request to end the marriage. Monroe uses a divorce master process under its local rules (the rules call this official the divorce hearing officer), with advance notice, required financial materials, and court-set dates before a contested matter proceeds.
The county's local Rule 1920.51 adopts the procedure in Pennsylvania Rule 1920.55-2. A master's report can trigger a deadline for exceptions, so bring a report or notice to counsel promptly. The applicable deadline should be calculated from the document and the rule, not from a general description of how long divorce usually takes.
Monroe's electronic-filing rule includes divorce and custody and designates CourtPro. Submission and acceptance are different steps, and the electronic-service provisions do not replace the requirements for original process. Keep both submission and acceptance or rejection messages. Our divorce page explains the statewide issues without replacing the county's filing directions.
Support and APL have a separate filing route
Monroe's local rules designate the Domestic Relations Section as the filing office for original support and alimony pendente lite complaints and later papers in those actions. APL is support sought while a divorce is pending. A custody filing should not be assumed to start a support claim.
Gather the support order, notices, income records, and relevant expense documents for counsel. The specific claim and current financial information need review before discussing a support amount or a requested change. Our child-support page provides the broader framework.
Protection orders require attention to the actual restrictions
Monroe's official PFA directions identify the Prothonotary for weekday petitions and instruct people seeking an after-hours petition to contact local police for referral to the court-designated duty magisterial district judge. Check the current county instructions for closures and the appropriate route.
Bring the complete order and hearing notice. Contact restrictions, household arrangements, and custody questions need to be reviewed together. The PFA and domestic-violence page and Monroe guide explain the broader issues; an existing order should not be treated as optional while another family case is pending.
What happens next
- Gather the current orders and notices. Include custody, divorce, support, and protection-order papers and any pending filing.
- Prepare the family information. Bring the child's residence history, a practical schedule proposal, financial records relevant to the claim, and the documents needed to explain the problem.
- Identify the next event. Note what has already been served, filed, or scheduled and what remains uncertain.
- Discuss the appropriate route. We review the issues separately, identify missing information, and discuss the next step without assuming one proceeding resolves everything.
Questions about Monroe family-law matters
Is every Stroudsburg-area custody case filed in Monroe County?
No. Venue and jurisdiction require review of the residence history and any existing case or order. A mailing address alone does not settle the question.
Do I need a parenting plan for the first consultation?
Bring a proposed schedule if you have one. It helps explain the problem. The local rule's formal parenting-plan requirement concerns the pretrial package; the consultation checklist is not a court filing instruction.
Does an online COPE class mean my hearing is online?
No. Education arrangements and court-attendance arrangements are different. Follow the hearing notice unless the court approves another arrangement.
Does filing a custody case automatically start child support?
Do not assume so. Monroe identifies Domestic Relations as the filing office for support and APL complaints. Custody and support should be reviewed as separate claims.
Can a move within Pennsylvania raise relocation issues?
Yes, depending on how it affects another person's custody rights. The county or state boundary is not the only consideration. Obtain advice on the proposed move before treating a new schedule as settled.
Schedule a Consultation
Contact Madsen Law Offices at (484) 548-0529 to discuss a Monroe County family matter. Our office is at 680 Wolf Avenue in Easton, serving people with matters in the Stroudsburg area. Visit myeastonattorney.com or Schedule a Consultation.
General information about Pennsylvania law. It is not legal advice for a particular case.
Official references
- Monroe custody department and current court forms.
- Monroe domestic-relations rules, Rules 1910.4, 1915.3-3, 1915.4-4, 1915.12 and 1920.51, PDF pp.1-4,12-16.
- Monroe CourtPro rule, Rule 205.4, PDF pp.1-5,7-8.
- Pa. R. Civ. P. 1920.55-2, report and exceptions procedure.
- 23 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 5421, § 5422 and § 5337.
- Monroe Domestic Relations.
- Monroe PFA directions.