Rule 86.Proposed Effective Date.
Current through February 2024 · Last verified September 12, 2026
Full Text of Rule 86
Amendment History
Rhode Island does not publish a per-rule amendment history inside the compiled rules text reproduced here. The text above is verified current through the source’s own February 2024 printing; for the underlying adopting orders and any later amendments, see the Rhode Island Judiciary’s compiled rules page.
Plain-English Summary
These amended rules took effect November 5, 2014. From that day they govern every action brought after it, which is the easy half of the rule.
The harder half is the case already open. The amended rules also govern all further proceedings in actions that were pending on the effective date. A case filed under the older procedure does not keep it for the rest of its life; the next step follows the current rules.
One exception softens that. To the extent that, in the opinion of the court, applying the amended rules in a particular pending action would not be feasible or would work injustice, the former procedure applies. Three things about that exception are worth holding onto: the call belongs to the court, it is made action by action, and it reaches back to the old procedure only as far as the court's finding goes.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did the current Rhode Island Family Court domestic relations rules take effect?
Rule 86 sets the effective date of the amended rules at November 5, 2014. From that day they govern actions brought after it.
Do the amended rules apply to a case filed before that date?
Yes. The amended rules govern all further proceedings in an action that was pending when they took effect, so a case does not hold on to the older procedure because of its filing date. The court may direct otherwise in a particular action.
Is there any way the former procedure still applies?
There is one exception. To the extent that the court is of the opinion that applying the amended rules in a particular pending action would not be feasible or would work injustice, the former procedure applies.
Who decides whether the former procedure applies?
The court does. Rule 86 leaves the call to the court's opinion about feasibility and injustice in the particular action before it.
Does the exception cover a whole category of older cases?
No. Rule 86 frames it around a particular action pending when the rules took effect, so it is an individual judgment rather than a blanket carve out.