Family Court Motions

  • Walk-in self-represented litigants filing for custody matters are accepted every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 9:15 a.m. at the Bernard C. Brominski Building, 113 W. North Street, Wilkes-Barre, PA, 18711 or at the Luzerne County Courthouse, 200 N. River Street, Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711.  Please contact (570) 822-0764 with any questions and to determine the location. 
  • Family Court Motions (i.e. starting a custody actions, modifying an existing custody order, Petitions for Special Relief and/or Contempt) must be either e-filed or filed in person with the Office of Judicial Records before sending the filed motion and proposed order to familycourtmotions@luzernecounty.org to be reviewed by the family court motions judge. 
  • Petitions for Name Change of a Minor must be presented to Luzerne County Court Administration - Family Court Division during Motions Court hours on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 9:15 a.m.  Please contact (570) 822-0764 with any questions. 
  • Self-represented litigants should arrive with the appropriate completed paperwork to present for scheduling. 
  • Court employees are prohibited from providing legal advice, as well as guidance with regard to the drafting and executing legal documents. 
  • To request a transcript when a Notice of Appeal has been filed for cases involving The Pennsylvania Juvenile Act (i.e. delinquency or dependency cases - Children and Youth Services matters), Protection from Abuse (PFA) matters, custody matters, divorce matters, and on-the-record Domestic Relations matters you must fill out the standard Request for Transcript or Copy form.  The Request for Transcript or Copy form must be filed with the Luzerne County Office of Judicial Records and served on Court Administration for processing. 
  • To request a transcript when a Notice of Appeal has not been filed for matters listed above a Motion for Transcript and Proposed Order must be accompanied by the Request for Transcript or Copy form.  The Motion for Transcript and Proposed Order must be directed to and signed by the Judge who presided over the matter.  If you are requesting a transcript from a proceeding heard by a Hearing Officer, the Motion for Transcript and Proposed Order must be directed to the Hearing Officer's supervising Judge.  
  • If you are requesting multiple transcripts, you must present individual Request for Transcript or Copy forms and/or Motions and Orders for each individual request. 
  • The requesting party shall serve time-stamped copies of the request upon: the presiding Judge, the District Court Administrator or designee, the Court Reporter assigned to processing the work, and all other counsel or self-represented parties in the proceeding.
  • The requesting party must also submit a time-stamped copy of the request to one of the following: 
    • via email - transcriptadmin@luzernecounty.org
    • via U.S. Mail - to Marlene Mariggi, Deputy Court Administrator at:
      • Luzerne County Courthouse, 200 N. River Street, Wilkes-Barre, PA 1871
    • via fax to (570) 825-6242.
    • Please be sure to provide a phone number on the form where you can be contacted to be notified of the costs and when the transcript is completed.