If you disagree with a Magistrate= s order about child support, you can ask the court to look at your case again to see if the order is correct. This is called an appeal. To begin an appeal you must file two documents within FOURTEEN (14) days of when the Magistrate makes the order. The two documents are:

1. Appeal from Family Support Magistrate; and

This web site has blank forms that you can fill out. It also has examples of the appeal form and petition that have already been filled out. You can use the examples to help you complete the paperwork in your own case.

The first document that you will need to fill out is called A Appeal from Family Support Magistrate.@ This is a standard form that you can get from any of the following places:

the Clerk= s Office at Superior Court;

the State of Connecticut, Judicial Branch website

                                           http://www.jud2.state.ct.us/webforms/forms/fm111.htm

The number for this form is JD-FM-111; or

this web page - you will find a blank form and an example of a completed form on this web page

Click here for sample of completed Appeal from Family Support Magistrate form in PDF

Everyone who wants to appeal a decision of a Family Support Magistrate must fill out this form. It does not matter why you disagree with the order.

You can look at the sample completed form to help you fill out your own form.

FILING DATE OF DECISION ON REQUEST FOR REHEARING: In general, you should leave this box blank. The only time that you would fill out this box would be if you already asked for a A rehearing@ and the Magistrate refused to do it. A A rehearing@ is when the court does the hearing all over again in front of the same Magistrate.

TRANSCRIPT: A transcript is a written record of what happened in court. If you were A sworn in@ (which means if you swore to tell the truth) and if you answered questions, you should get a copy of the transcript so the court can understand what happened in your case. To get the transcript you must fill out a form. See A Other Forms@ later on this page for information about requesting a transcript. There is a cost per page. It is possible to have the state pay this cost. See A Other Forms@ later on this page for information about fee waiver applications.

ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE: Check YES if you have evidence that you did not give to the court at your hearing. You will need to attach a separate page to explain what the evidence is and why you did not present it at the original hearing.

The second document that you will need to fill out is called A Petition for Appeal of Decision of Family Support Magistrate.@ We will refer to this document as the A petition.@ The petition explains why you disagree with the magistrate= s decision. The sample here is to be used only when the magistrate orders you to pay more than the guideline chart amount, without enough evidence that you can pay more. Connecticut= s Child Support Guidelines set standard amounts based on weekly net income. The court should not order more or less than this amount without following the rules for deviating from this amount. (See below for link to guidelines.)

Click here for sample of completed Petition for Appeal from FAmily Support Magistrate form

This petition may describe your situation if:

The order is significantly more than the guideline amount. (To determine this, check the child support guideline amount for your weekly income. Remember that if your only income is Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or state welfare your income is 0. Click here for link to Child Support Guidelines. (www.jud.state.ct.us/external/news/childsupport.htm )

There was little or no evidence (including testimony) about your earning capacity, or you had evidence about your ability to earn that was not taken into account.

Other Forms that you may need to fill out and give to the clerk:

REQUEST FOR TRANSCRIPT: A transcript is a written record of what happened in court. If you were A sworn in@ (which means if you swore to tell the truth) and if you answered questions, you should get a copy of the transcript so the court can review it. This is a standard form that you must get from the Clerk= s Office at Superior Court. The number for this form is JD-ES-38. The Transcript Order is a carbon form, so what you write on the top will print on all of the layers below it.

APPLICATION FOR WAIVER OF FEES: (JD-FM-75) If you do not have the money to pay for a transcript, you can ask the State to pay for it by completing this form. It is a standard form that you can get from the Clerk= s Office or from the Judicial Branch website at http://www.jud2.state.CT.us/webforms/forms/fm075.htm. If you would like more information about how to complete an Application for Waiver of Fees click here for a Legal Service= s pamphlet (http://www.larcc.org/pamphlets/children_family/guide_fee_waiver.htm).