NJ · rules
N.J. Ct. R. 5:4-3
Answer, Acknowledgment, Appearance
(a) Generally. Except as otherwise provided by paragraph (b) hereof or by any other rule or statute, a defendant in a family action shall file an answer in accordance with R. 4:5-3 or a general appearance and, without filing an answer, be heard on issues of custody of children, parenting time or visitation, alimony, child support, equitable distribution, counsel fees and other issues incidental to the proceeding. A defendant may also file an acknowledgment of service in accordance with R. 4:4-6.
(b) Summary Actions. In summary family actions in which the process fixes a hearing date, the defendant may file a responsive pleading no later than 15 days prior to the hearing date. The defendant shall not be required to file a responsive pleading to appear on the hearing date to be heard on issues of custody, parenting time, visitation, child support, and other related issues.
History
Note: Source-R. (1969) 4:78-2, 4:79-1; 5:3-2 (second sentence). Adopted December 20, 1983, to be effective December 31, 1983; paragraph (a) amended November 1, 1985 to be effective January 2, 1986; paragraph (b) amended July 13, 1994 to be effective September 1, 1994; paragraph (a) amended July 5, 2000 to be effective September 5, 2000; paragraph (b) amended July 31, 2025 to be effective September 1, 2025.
Provenance
- Source
- njcourts.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-09-15
- Edition
- 2026-09-14
- Content hash
78b61d9e628fde08758b4bcffa79879f1ce73cdabb3f8f75cae93fdaa0b7656b
The link goes to the issuing authority’s own document — the one we read to produce this record. Where a source publishes whole titles rather than sections, your browser may need a moment to jump to the provision.
Unofficial copy of government-published law, reproduced from official sources with full provenance. Not an official publication; verify against official sources before relying on it in a filing. Records in the 'guidance' corpus, and only that corpus, are sub-regulatory (interpretive guidelines, survey procedures) and are not binding law. Validity bounds follow each jurisdiction's declared temporalBasis.