Cal. Rules of Court, rule 5.98 · Article 3. Meet-and-Confer Conferences
Meet-and-confer requirements; document exchange
Text — As posted by the Judicial Council of California (read October 22, 2026)
(a) Meet and confer
All parties and all attorneys are required to meet and confer in person, by telephone, or as ordered by the court, before the date of the hearing relating to a Request for Order (FL-300). During this time, parties must discuss and make a good faith attempt to settle all issues, even if a complete settlement is not possible and only conditional agreements are made. The requirement to meet and confer does not apply to cases involving domestic violence.
(b) Document exchange
Before or while conferring, parties must exchange all documentary evidence that is to be relied on for proof of any material fact at the hearing. At the hearing, the court may decline to consider documents that were not given to the other party before the hearing as required under this rule. The requirement to exchange documents does not relate to documents that are submitted primarily for rebuttal or impeachment purposes.
Notes and commentary — not rule text
History
Rule 5.98 adopted effective January 1, 2013.
Title 5, Family and Juvenile Rules-Division 1, Family Rules-Chapter 6, Request for Court Orders-Article 4, Evidence at Hearings; adopted January 1, 2013.
Source of truth
- Edition
- As posted by the Judicial Council of California (read October 22, 2026)
- Official file
- https://courts.ca.gov/cms/rules/index/five/rule5_98
- Text hash
- sha256 69177ff6c51266ddf5b9944d22161a9b6c7f9976cf066dfad590d9537390fd61
- Composed by
- compose_crc.py 2026-10-22: the Judicial Council's rule pages read paragraph by paragraph; verify_crc.py's second reading of the Council's per-title PDFs finds every paragraph
BenchPath cards that rely on this text
- Butte County Superior Court Local Court Rules (effective July 1, 2026) — Rule 16: Family Law
- El Dorado County Superior Court Local Rules (effective January 1, 2026) — Chapter 8: Family Law Proceedings
- Lake County Superior Court Local Rules (effective January 1, 2026) — Chapter 5: Family Law
- Merced County Superior Court Local Rules of Court (effective July 1, 2026) — Family Law (Rules 400 to 419)
- Modoc County Superior Court Local Rules (effective July 1, 2024) — Chapter 13: Family Law Rules
- Orange County Superior Court Local Rules (current edition, effective July 1, 2025) — Division 7: Family Law
- San Bernardino County Superior Court — Family Law Policy FL-002 - Mandatory Settlement Conferences and Voluntary Settlement Conferences
- San Luis Obispo County Superior Court Local Rules of Court (effective July 1, 2026) — Chapter 19: Family Law Department Procedures and Policies
- Siskiyou County Superior Court Local Rules of Court (effective July 1, 2026) — Chapter 8: Family Law Rules
- Stanislaus County Superior Court Local Rules (effective July 1, 2026) — Rule 7: Family Law (Rules 7.08 to 7.12)
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.