Rule 10.Appearance Before a Magistrate by Nonattorney Employees of the Office of Child Support
Last amended April 1, 2002 · Last verified September 12, 2026
Full Text of Rule 10
Notes
REPORTER'S NOTES--2001 AMENDMENT: Rules 10(b) and (c) are amended to reflect the promulgation of the Vermont Rules of Professional Conduct, which replaced the former Code of Professional Responsibility effective September 1, 1999.
REPORTER'S NOTES--1993 AMENDMENT: Family Court Rule 10 has been amended to conform with the statutory amendments to 4 V.S.A. § 464.
REPORTER'S NOTES: Family Court Rule 10 has been amended by providing the rule adopted on April 22, 1991 with a title and by identifying each paragraph by letter instead of number. Subdivision (a) conforms with the statutory provisions of 4 V.S.A. § 464.
Amendment History
[Amended December 6, 2001, effective April 1, 2002.]
Plain-English Summary
The Office of Child Support takes part in child support cases, and the person who appears for it may not be a lawyer. Rule 10 makes that lawful. A nonattorney employee whom the Office has qualified may sign complaints and motions and may participate in child support hearings before a magistrate. It is not the unauthorized practice of law, on these conditions: the employee represents only the interests of the Office, and the nature of that role is explained to all parties before the proceeding begins. If you are a parent in such a case, that means the person across the table is not your attorney and not the other parent's attorney, however closely their position happens to track yours.
What the employee may do is spelled out. Participation means presenting current and material evidence about both parents' income and resources, computing the parental support obligation under the child support guidelines, and recommending any deviation from that amount after considering the best interests of the child. The recommendation is supposed to arrive with relevant supporting documentation and the legal justification behind it, so you can see what the figures rest on and answer them.
The rule builds in oversight. The Office furnishes the court with a current roster of its qualified employees, and the court administrator may notify the Office that a particular employee is denied the right to participate in child support proceedings, stating the basis for that decision. Separately, these employees are subject to the Rules of Professional Conduct while doing this work, and a family court judge who determines after a hearing that an employee has violated those rules may suspend or revoke that person's right to appear before a magistrate.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the person from the Office of Child Support my lawyer?
No. A qualified nonattorney employee of the Office of Child Support who takes part in your hearing represents only the interests of the Office. That person is not your attorney and is not the other parent's attorney, even when the position they take lines up with yours.
The rule requires that the nature of the employee's role be explained to all parties before the proceeding starts, so you should hear this at the outset.
Can someone who is not a lawyer file a child support motion against me?
Yes. Nonattorney employees of the Office of Child Support who have been duly qualified by the Office may sign complaints and motions and may participate in child support hearings before a magistrate.
Rule 10 says this does not count as the unauthorized practice of law, so long as the employee represents only the Office and everyone is told about that role before the hearing begins.
What does the Office of Child Support employee do at the hearing?
Three things: the income and resource evidence for both parents, the guideline calculation of the support obligation, and a recommendation on whether to depart from that figure in light of the child's best interests.
It has to come with supporting documentation and the legal reasoning behind it, so you can challenge a wrong income figure or a weak justification rather than only the final number.
How does the court know the employee is qualified to appear?
The Office of Child Support furnishes the court with a current roster of its qualified nonattorney employees, so the court has a list of who may take part.
Being on the roster is not permanent. Any of those employees may be denied the right to participate in child support proceedings on notice to the Office from the court administrator, and that notice must indicate the basis for the decision.
What if the employee behaves improperly during the case?
While engaged in this work, nonattorney employees of the Office of Child Support are subject to the Rules of Professional Conduct, the same ethics rules that bind attorneys.
If a family court judge determines, after a hearing, that an employee has violated those rules, the judge may suspend or revoke that employee's right to engage in activities before a magistrate.