Rule 5.Records; transcripts; fees; costs; forms

All case files and evidence are filed with and stored by the circuit clerk, and all fees and costs are paid to and collected by the circuit clerk. Family court runs through the circuit clerk's office rather than keeping its own registry.

Proceedings are recorded electronically, indexed by the family court's secretary-clerk, and stored securely by the family court unless the judge asks the circuit clerk to hold them. A party may get a copy of the recording in their own case by filing a written request identifying the style of the action and the hearing date and paying the cost, and the court has ten days to provide it. Two limits apply: the court may refuse to provide any part of a recording containing a child's testimony, and nobody outside the circuit clerk, family court judges, circuit judges and their staffs may access an original recording.

Transcripts are a party's own undertaking. A party may have one prepared by an independent court reporter or transcription service at their own cost, subject again to the court's power to refuse transcription of a child's testimony. The transcriber verifies it as a true and accurate record and states whether it covers all or part of the proceeding; the party gives notice of its preparation to everyone else and may file a copy. Where the parties cannot agree that a transcript is accurate, the court resolves it.

Costs and fees, attorney fees included, may be taxed against a party who is financially able to pay. Statewide forms must be available in every circuit clerk's office, with a duplication fee capped at ten cents a page or ten dollars in total — and neither circuit clerks nor their staffs nor family court staff may give legal advice about those forms or anything else. Local rules follow the Trial Court Rules procedure.