Ch. XI: General Provisions · Last amended 2021 · Current through June 1, 2026 · Last verified September 9, 2026
In one sentenceRule 86 dates the rules to January 1, 1987, applies them to pending cases as well as new ones, and lets the court fall back to the former procedure where that would be unworkable or unjust.
(a)These Rules will take effect on January 1, 1987. They govern all proceedings in actions brought after they take effect and also all further proceedings in actions then pending, except to the extent that in the opinion of the Court their application in a particular action pending when the Rules take effect would not be feasible or would work injustice, in which event the former procedure applies.
(b)Effective Date of Amendments. Any amendments which may be adopted in the future shall specify an effective date. They govern all proceedings in actions brought after they take effect and also all further proceedings in actions then pending, except to the extent that in the opinion of the Court their application in a particular action pending when the amendments take effect would not be feasible or would work injustice, in which event the former procedure applies.
End
Amendment History
Delaware prints each rule’s amendment history as a single “Credits” line naming every order that adopted or amended it. It is reproduced verbatim below.
[Amended effective December 1, 2021.]
Plain-English Summary
The date. These rules took effect on January 1, 1987. They govern actions brought afterwards and all further proceedings in actions already pending — so a case that was halfway through did not carry the old procedure with it to the end.
The escape valve. There is one exception, and it is a sensible one: where in the court's opinion applying the new rules to a particular pending action would not be feasible or would work injustice, the former procedure applies to that action. A party who had already done something correctly under the old rules is not penalised for the change.
Amendments. Any future amendment must specify its own effective date, and carries the same transitional test. That is why every amendment note on these pages has a date attached, and why Rule 77 makes the Clerk give the Bar advance notice before a change takes effect.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did the Delaware Family Court Rules of Civil Procedure take effect?
They took effect on January 1, 1987, governing actions brought afterwards and all further proceedings in actions then pending.
Do amendments apply to a case already underway?
Yes, to further proceedings in pending actions — except where in the court's opinion applying them to a particular pending action would not be feasible or would work injustice, in which case the former procedure applies.
Source & verification. The rule text and amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the Delaware Family Court Rules of Civil Procedure (Fam. Ct. Civ. R. 86), and every rule has been checked word for word against the Delaware Family Court’s own published edition of these rules. Current through June 1, 2026. The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified September 9, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as:effective date Delaware Family Court rulesFam. Ct. Civ. R. 86