Rule 305.Pretrial Conferences
Last amended May 1, 2012 · Last verified July 1, 2026
Full Text of Rule 305
Advisory Committee Comments
Family Court Rules Advisory Committee Commentary*
In disposing of a proceeding, the Court may dismiss it entirely, grant relief to the party appearing, grant attorney fees, bifurcate the proceedings and grant partial relief, or grant any other relief which the court may deem appropriate. See Rule 306.2(c).
*Original Advisory Committee Comment--Not kept current.
Task Force Comment--1991 Adoption
Subsection (a) of this rule is derived from existing Rule 4.03 of the Rules of Family Court Procedure.
Subsection (b) of this rule is derived from existing Rule 4.04 of the Rules of Family Court Procedure. Subsection (c) of this rule is derived from existing Rule 4.05 of the Rules of Family Court Procedure.
A prehearing conference without both parties and lawyers familiar with the facts of the case and the parties is rarely a worthwhile exercise and usually is a waste of resources of the parties and the court. Nonetheless, the Task Force believes there may be situations, on rare occasion, where a party or lawyer should be excused from attendance or should be allowed to participate by conference phone call.
Task Force Comment--1991 Adoption
This rule is new. The Task Force believes it is useful to have an order entered to limit the issues and preserve any agreements reached at a pretrial conference. This rule is adapted from a recommendation of the Minnesota State Bar Association’s Family Law Section.
Amendment History
- (Amended effective May 1, 2012.)
- (Amended effective May 1, 2012.)
- (Amended effective May 1, 2012.)
Plain-English Summary
Rule 305 makes sure both sides walk into the pretrial conference with the same financial picture in front of them. Each party fills out a Parenting and Financial Disclosure Statement, on the form the state court administrator provides, and serves and files it at least seven days before the conference.
The parties and the lawyers who will try the case are expected at the conference, ready to negotiate a real settlement, and the lawyers attending need authority to settle the case. A court can excuse someone for good cause, and if a full settlement is already in writing before the conference, only the party seeking the decree needs to appear, since the matter can be handled administratively or as a default.
Skipping the conference carries real consequences: the court can strike the case from the contested calendar, grant partial relief to the party who did appear, treat the absent party's pleadings as stricken and hear the matter as a default, or award attorney's fees. If the conference doesn't settle everything, the court instead enters an order that schedules whatever discovery and motions remain, identifies the issues still contested for trial, sets up the exchange of witness lists and exhibits, and records how any already-resolved issues were settled.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the Parenting and Financial Disclosure Statement due before a pretrial conference?
At least seven days before the date set for the pretrial conference.
Who has to attend a family court pretrial conference?
The parties and the lawyers who will try the case, and those lawyers need authority to settle it, unless the court excuses someone for good cause.
What happens if a party skips the pretrial conference?
The court can strike the case from the contested calendar, grant partial relief to the party who appeared, treat the absent party's pleadings as stricken and proceed as a default, or award attorney's fees and costs.
Does a party have to appear at the conference if the case is already settled?
Not necessarily. If a stipulation resolving everything is in writing before the conference, only the party seeking the decree needs to appear, and the matter can be handled administratively or as a default.
What does the court do if a pretrial conference doesn't resolve the case?
It enters an order scheduling any remaining discovery and motions, identifying the contested issues for trial, and setting up the exchange of witness lists and exhibits.
Task Force Comment--1991 Adoption
This rule is derived from existing Rule 4.02 of the Rules of Family Court Procedure. The existing family court rule includes a requirement that information be filed on forms, and that typewritten or word-processed documents would not be accepted for filing. The Task Force considered the desirability of requiring information to be submitted on preprinted forms, and determined that such requirements should not be retained. Many modern law offices cannot readily prepare such documents as word processing machines have displaced the typewriters for which the forms are designed. The Task Force also believes that these requirements only increase the cost of litigation and limit access to the courts.