What are Montana Family Court Records?

Montana Family Court Records contain information about all the events, processes, and proceedings regarding a case categorized under family law. These include case filings, fees, trial proceedings, evidence, judgments/court orders, and dockets.

What is a Montana Family Court?

Montana State has no separate family courts. Instead, cases of family law are heard at the District courts under the jurisprudence title " Exclusive Domestic relations” and “Juvenile” as applicable. Forty-six (46) district judges administer 56 district courts in 22 judicial districts in all 56 counties of Montana state.

What Cases are Heard by Family Courts?

Family courts oversee issues arising from family relations such as marriage, parental rights, and child custody. Other cases include adoption, paternity, dependency, divorce, alimony, domestic violence, and some juvenile cases among a host of other related matters.

How to Serve Family Court Papers in Montana State

While the court of rules and procedures in Montana state vary from district to district, the general process of serving papers in Montana State is largely similar:

• The plaintiff files a complaint, either by using the e-filing system for free or obtaining forms from the local court clerk at a fee. The e-filing system allows the user to either submit electronically or print copies of completed forms and submit them by other means. Submission other than the e-filing system may be in person, by mail or by fax. Regardless of the submission route, all filing processes are completed at a processing fee. Forms are available for the following
• Upon submission of the complaint forms, the court clerk issues a properly completed summons to either the suer or the suer’s attorney. Summons must be served within 14 days from the date of issue( where the defendant is a resident), or 60 days (where the defendant lives outside the state).
• Court papers must be served by a process server, who may be a sheriff, constable, or someone above 18 years of age who is not a party to the legal action. Court papers to be served must include a copy of the summons and complaint form. Where service in person is not feasible, papers could be served via first class mail or pre-paid postage, in which the following must be delivered:
  • A copy of the summons and complaint;
  • 2 copies each of notice and an acknowledgment form;
  • A return envelope addressed to the sender.
• The defendant must acknowledge the receipt of the papers by signing and dating the notice and acknowledgment form and returning them in the sender’s return-envelope within 21 days, after which papers must be served in person. Unless the defendant has good reasons for defaulting in the process, the court penalizes the defendant by ordering him/her to pay for the costs of the personal service of papers.

What is Contempt of Court in Family Law in Montana State?

Contempt of court in Montana occurs where either or both parties to a case conducts himself/herself in a way that breaches the code of order of court rules. Contempt of court could be civil or criminal, and either could direct or indirect. Direct contempt refers to contempt in the presence of the judge (usually confrontational) while indirect may or may not be in the presence of the court. Criminal contempt is often associated with misbehavior that disrupts the court proceedings and in some cases may be violent. The penalty for criminal contempt is usually aimed at punishing the offense, and this may range from fines to incarceration. Civil contempt, on the other hand, is often indirect and borders on a refusal to obey court orders such as visitation schedules, alimony, child support, and as such, court-imposed sanctions often seek to enforce the court order.

Are Family Court Records Public in Montana State?

Not all family court records are open to the public. In keeping with the federal commitments of the judiciary system, most family court records are publicly accessible. Public access is clearly defined in the Montana judiciary system as not only inspection but also access to copies of court records. A number of family court records are confidential in Montana:

• Child abuse/neglect/ termination of parent’s rights records
• Marriage and dissolution of marriage.
• Abortion cases
• Adoption and Parentage proceedings
• Family cases involving sexual abuse/ mental health challenges
• Guardianship
• Cases involving the neglect of the aged

Are Montana State Divorce Records Sealed or Public Records?

Yes, Montana state divorce records (from 1943) are public records accessible at the Office of Vital Statistics. Please note that publicly available divorce records are applicable to only those for which the State Case Registry and Vital Statistics Form has been completed and filed with the local courthouse clerk.

How Do I Find Divorce Records in Montana State?

A quick way to find Montana divorce records is to write to the Office of Vital Statistics to request for divorce records. Requests are processed for a small fee. Information is however limited to only indexes of decrees. To obtain copies of records, an application must be made to the district court clerk where the divorce was granted, stating the date of the decree. The cost of copies varies from county to county. Additionally, publicly available records are accessible from some third-party websites. These websites offer the benefit of not being limited by geographical record availability and can often serve as a starting point when researching a specific or multiple records. To find a record using the search engines on these sites, interested parties must provide:

• The name of someone involved, providing it is not a juvenile
• The assumed location of the record in question such as a city, county, or state name

Third-party sites are not government-sponsored websites, and record availability may differ from official channels.

Family Court Records can include marriage records and divorce records. These records contain personal information of those involved and their maintenance is critical should anyone involved wish to make changes. Because of this both marriage and divorce records can be considered more difficult to locate and obtain than other public records, and may not be available through government sources or third party public record websites.

How to Access Family Law Cases in Montana State

Family law cases in some district courts in Montana are accessible online in the docketed form at the Montana state supreme court by a search using the name of parties, case number, or date of the court hearing. Alternatively, family court records can be found at the United States District Courts (District of Montana) to search online for public cases. Records are also accessible in person by visiting the office of the clerk of the district court, who is the official record-keeper of all court records, domestic relations inclusive.

How to Request Family Court Records in Montana State

In order to obtain copies of family court records in Montana, the requester must appear in person at the local courthouse where the record was filed or mail a written request to the district court clerk of the court where the record was filed. Searches for records, copies and certified copies are provided at statutory charges. The request must be enclosed along with a photo ID, and a self-addressed envelope for the purpose of mailing the records. Note that only persons directly involved in the courts may be granted copies of court records. The request for transcripts is also granted at a fee which is constantly being reviewed.

Both government websites and organizations may offer divorce and marriage records. Similarly, third party public record websites can also provide these types of records. But because third party organizations are not operated or sponsored by the government, record availability may vary. Further, marriage and divorce records are considered highly private and are often sealed, meaning availability of these types of records cannot be guaranteed.