Massachusetts Rules of Domestic Relations Procedure
71 rules across 10 parts · Cited as Mass. R. Dom. Rel. P.
A divorce, a paternity case or a complaint for contempt in Massachusetts does not run on the Rules of Civil Procedure. The Probate and Family Court has its own set. They follow the same numbering, so Rule 12 is still defenses and Rule 56 is still summary judgment, but the court deleted what it has no use for — juries, class actions, receivers, default — and rewrote what it does: how a summons reaches a defendant in a support or paternity case, what a judgment nisi stays, when a master may hear the evidence. Reach for the wrong set and the deadline you calculate may not be the one that governs.
Part I. Scope of Rules - One Form of Action
Cited as Mass. R. Dom. Rel. P. · 2 rules
Part II. Commencement of Action; Service of Process, Pleadings, Motions and Orders
Cited as Mass. R. Dom. Rel. P. · 7 rules
Part III. Pleadings and Motions
Cited as Mass. R. Dom. Rel. P. · 9 rules
- 7 Pleadings Allowed: Form of Motions
- 8 General Rules of Pleading
- 9 Pleading Special Matters
- 10 Form of Pleadings
- 11 Appearances and Pleadings
- 12 Defenses and Objections - When and How Presented - By Pleading or Motion
- 13 Counterclaim and Cross-Complaint
- 14 Third-Party Practice Deleted
- 15 Amended and Supplemental Pleadings
- 16 Pre-Trial Procedure: Formulating Issues
Part IV. Parties
Cited as Mass. R. Dom. Rel. P. · 4 rules
- 17 Parties Plaintiff and Defendant: Capacity
- 18 Joinder of Claims and Remedies Deleted
- 19 Joinder of Persons Needed for Just Adjudication
- 20-23.2 Permissive Joinder, Misjoinder, Interpleader, Class Actions, Derivative Actions Deleted
- 24 Intervention
- 25 Substitution of Parties
Part V. Depositions and Discovery
Cited as Mass. R. Dom. Rel. P. · 13 rules
- 26 General Provision Governing Discovery
- 27 Depositions Before Action or Pending Appeal
- 28 Persons Before Whom Depositions May be Taken
- 29 Stipulations Regarding Discovery Procedure
- 30 Depositions Upon Oral Examination
- 30A Audio-Visual Depositions
- 31 Deposition of Witnesses Upon Written Questions
- 32 Use of Depositions in Court Proceedings
- 33 Interrogatories to Parties
- 34 Production of Documents and Things and Entry Upon Land for Inspection and Other Purposes
- 35 Physical and Mental Examination of Persons
- 36 Requests for Admission
- 37 Failure to Make Discovery: Sanctions
Part VI. Trials
Cited as Mass. R. Dom. Rel. P. · 12 rules
- 38 Jury Trial of Right Deleted
- 39 Trial by Jury or by the Court
- 40 Assignment of Cases for Trial: Continuances
- 41 Dismissal of Actions
- 42 Consolidation: Separate Trials
- 43 Evidence
- 44 Proof of Official Records
- 44.1 Determination of Foreign Law
- 45 Subpoena
- 46 Exceptions Unnecessary
- 47-50 Jurors, Number of Jurors, Special Verdicts, Directed Verdicts Deleted
- 51 Argument
- 52 Findings by the Court
- 53 Masters
Part VII. Judgment
Cited as Mass. R. Dom. Rel. P. · 9 rules
Part VIII. Provisional and Final Remedies and Special Procedures
Cited as Mass. R. Dom. Rel. P. · 6 rules
- 64 Report of Case
- 65 Injunctions
- 65.1 Security: Proceedings Against Sureties
- 66 Receivers Deleted
- 67 Deposit in Court
- 68 Offer of Judgment Deleted
- 69 Execution
- 70 Judgment for Specific Acts: Vesting Title
- 71 Process in Behalf of and Against Persons Not Parties Deleted
- 72-76 Reserved Reserved
Part IX. Courts and Clerks
Cited as Mass. R. Dom. Rel. P. · 4 rules
Part X. General Provisions
Cited as Mass. R. Dom. Rel. P. · 5 rules
Rules 14, 18, 20 through 23.2, 38, 47 through 50, 55, 66, 68 and 71 were deleted, and Rules 72 through 76 reserved, as having no application in the Probate and Family Court. They are listed here in their numeric positions, as the official compilation lists them, but carry no text. Rule 84 is reserved pro tem.