Rule 80.Declaratory Judgments

Rule 80 is among the shortest rules in the ruleset. It says three things.

These rules govern the procedure for obtaining a declaratory judgment. There is no separate declaratory track in family court; a party proceeds the way any other relief is sought, by petition or motion under the rules that would otherwise apply.

The existence of another adequate remedy does not preclude a declaratory judgment that is otherwise appropriate. That removes the objection most often raised against declaratory relief -- that the party could have sued for something else instead.

The court may order a speedy hearing. Declaratory relief is often sought precisely because the parties need to know where they stand before acting, and the rule lets the court move it ahead of the ordinary calendar.

Where it comes up

The rule supplies no grounds of its own, so the substance comes from elsewhere -- most often the validity or meaning of a premarital, marital or post-marital agreement, or the interpretation of a decree provision. Note that where the question is simply what an existing ruling means, Rule 84's motion for clarification is the narrower and faster tool, and it carries no filing fee for a new claim.