Q: New York Family Court. Can you explain in detail how to file a subpoena? For medical records and on a person. I am prose

A: Without forming an attorney client relationship, here are the general responses to this question. There is no such thing as a petition for abandonment in New York.

As for subpoenas, there are two hurdles. The first is the asker must file a motion pursuant to CPLR §602 seeking discovery by way of subpoenas. The best attorneys get this wrong. The second is getting past a judge or referee who has no experience in legal practice and who knows little to nothing about subpoenas. The motion has to be granted for the asker to get a subpoena and then the asker must have the subpoena served upon the recipient and then file an affidavit of service.

In family court, only the court can sign a subpoena. As for medical subpoenas, the family court has the jurisdiction over New York medical providers, so a subpoena directed at a medical provider must yield medical records. As for a personal subpoena, the motion must contain a subpoena for that person. The court must sign the subpoena and return it to the asker who then has that subpoena served.

Some courts table the motion. Others sign the subpoenas and do not return them to the asker. Others fail to sign a medical subpoena because it is missing a HIPAA release. No such release is needed by a court because no consent is needed from the patient. Subpoenas never require consent of the target. Many courts don't know this.

As stated, there is no way to hand-hold the asker and explain each and every step of the motion creation process. That triggers an attorney-client relationship. We here can go over what the statutes require as that is ordinary knowledge available to all.