Family Court Support Persons Guidelines

Request the attendance of a support person in private court proceedings.

A support person is an individual whom the Court may allow to accompany a litigant into a private Family Court hearing. A support person provides moral and emotional support to the litigant. Many types of hearings within Family Court are handled privately. This means that members of the general public are not permitted to be present during private hearings.

The Court understands that participating in a hearing can be stressful for a litigant and that the use of a support person in private proceedings can be helpful to the litigant and the Court. Therefore, the Court has created the following documents to assist litigants in requesting the attendance of a support person.