Who is the Petitioner and who is the Respondent?

“Petitioner” and “Respondent” are the titles given to the parties in Family Law matters. The Petitioner is the party who opens the case and the Respondent is the opposing (or Responding) party. These titles are never interchangeable, so a Respondent who files for a hearing as the ‘moving party’ will still be the Respondent on all documents filed with the court, and the Petitioner who responds to a request for order will remain the Petitioner on all court documents.