Important Message
Pursuant to Florida Supreme Court Administrative Order AOSC21-17, and Local Administrative Order 12.515-06/2021*, effective June 21, 2021, all trials and hearings will be conducted in person, except the following, which will occur via Zoom, until further order of the Court:
Family Division FC
- Uniform Motion Calendar (UMC) Hearings
- Lack of Prosecution hearings
- Case Management and Status Check hearings
- Uncontested final hearings for self-represented litigants
- Contested final hearings for self-represented litigants may continue to be heard via Zoom unless otherwise objected to by the parties.
- Notice of Contest hearings
- Post Judgment simple motion hearings for self-represented litigants
Probate/Guardianship Division IC
- UMC hearings
- Emergency Temporary Guardianship hearings
- Incapacity Hearings
- Guardianship Contempt Hearings
- Lack of Prosecution hearings
- Case Management and Status
- Do Not Resuscitate Preliminary hearings
- Non-evidentiary hearings of 30 minutes or less
All hearings previously noticed to occur via Zoom, will proceed unchanged, unless the parties agree to in-person proceedings, which is subject to approval by the Court.
Zoom Information
UMC Hearings:
Passcode: 23684444
Special Set Hearings:
Passcode: 818015
Instructions
Special Set Hearings that are scheduled via OLS
All special set hearings scheduled in OLS will populate an Order Setting Hearing with Zoom information automatically. The Order will be transferred to the Judge for review and signature. Please do not submit a separate Proposed Order or Notice of Hearing.
Uniform Motion Calendar and Uncontested Hearings:
Notice of Hearings need to be filed with all UMC scheduling. For an uncontested divorce, please provide the Court with a copy of the testifying party's driver license in advance, which may be uploaded in the Online Services System (OLS) as an attachment to the Final Judgment. In addition, only hearings that have been scheduled on the Online Scheduling System will go forward.
All UMC hearings, which are allotted no more than five minutes per side, must be scheduled through online scheduling system (OLS) and appearances shall be via zoom.
Non-Evidentiary Hearings:
The parties are MUST mail their filed motions, responses, affidavits, etc., to the Court that they mutually agree the Court may address based solely upon the papers, and thereby waive oral argument. All such requests must be made via a letter to the Judge signed by both parties and sent to CAD-DivisionFC@pbcgov.org for family cases, or CAD-DivisionIC@pbcgov.org for probate/guardianship cases. Each side should prepare a proposed order to be submitted through the Online Services System (OLS) with notation that it is related to a disputed issue which the parties have agreed for the Court to review without a hearing.
Evidentiary Hearings
The parties should stipulate to the admissibility of evidence for which the admissibility is not reasonably contested. The parties shall provide copies of all intended exhibits, evidence or demonstratives to the Court five (5) days in advance. If the evidence/exhibits are more than 20 pages it needs to be mailed or dropped off at the Courthouse (5) five days before the hearing.
Submission of Witness List
If you wish to call witnesses to testify at the hearing, you must submit a witness list containing the name and address of every witness. If you intend to call expert witnesses, you should include the name of the expert witness, the address of the expert witness and nature of the expert testimony. Your witness list must be submitted to the Court through the OLS system and opposing counsel at least five (5) business days before the hearing, and the transmittal document must designate the date and time of the hearing for which they are submitted.
Submission of Memoranda and Case Law
All memoranda and/or case authority must be submitted to the Court and opposing counsel via U.S. mail or hand delivered by courier at least five (5) business days before the hearing, and the transmittal document must designate the date and time of the hearing for which they are submitted.
All cases and legal authorities submitted to the court must be tabbed or digitally bookmarked, with pertinent sections highlighted.
Submission of Exhibit List and Exhibits
If you wish to introduce evidence to the Court, chronologically numbered exhibit list and all exhibits must be clearly marked and must be submitted to the Court and opposing counsel via U.S. mail or hand delivered by courier at least five (5) business days before the hearing and the transmittal document must designate the date and time of the hearing for which they are submitted.
The documents must be submitted to the Court and the other attorney (or self-represented) party at the same time, otherwise it will NOT be considered by the Court. Further, confidential information (such as Bank Accounts, Social Security Numbers, etc.) should be removed from documents provided to the Court as required by Fla. R. Jud. Admin., Rule 2.420(d).
All exhibits must be clearly marked before the hearing is set to begin. Exhibits shall be marked by a numbered sticker on the top right-hand corner of the front of each exhibit clearly identifying the case number and party who is offering the exhibit, e.g., Petitioner or Respondent. It is not the responsibility of the Court or judicial assistant to label the parties' exhibits for them. The Court will NOT accept unlabeled exhibits.
Most general questions can be answered by reading the Divisional Instructions herein. For case-specific questions the best way to contact the Judicial Assistant is via email at CAD-DivisionFC@pbcgov.org for family cases or CAD-DivisionIC@pbcgov.org.
FOR DIVISIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FC AND DIVISIONAL INSTRUCTIONS IC, CLICK ON THE APPROPRIATE LINK LOCATED IN THE LOWER RIGHT-HAND BELOW THE JUDGE'S PICTURE.
Do Not Send Letters, Emails or Notes To The Court
The Court does not act on letters, notes or emails sent by either party. The Court acts on petitions or motions properly filed with the Clerk of the Court. File the appropriate petition or motion with the Clerk of the Court, send a copy to the opposing side and a courtesy copy to the Court in order for requests to be addressed by the Court. All documents emailed to the Court must state that they were emailed to the opposing side in the same email or they will be returned as ex parte communication.