ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO: 5-20.3

WHEREAS, the 10^th Judicial Circuit Family Lawyers’ Association has in conjunction with the judges of the Family Law Division of this court, formulated and recommended for adoption administrative provisions intended to improve efficiency and uniformity in the Family Law Division of this court; and

WHEREAS, it is necessary for the prompt and efficient administration of justice in this circuit that the Family Law Division have administrative provisions; and

WHEREAS, the proper administration of justice in this circuit will be served by the adoption of the recommended administrative provisions; the court, therefore

ORDERS AND ADJUDGES:

These provisions shall apply to domestic relations actions in the Family Law Division of the Circuit Court in and for the Tenth Judicial Circuit in addition to any other administrative orders applicable to the court generally, and are intended to complement the Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure. These provisions supersede all conflicting provisions in any prior administrative orders adopted in this circuit.

The judge in the pro se section in Polk County and the judges presiding over pro se cases in Hardee and Highlands Counties may establish procedures in pro se cases that vary from the procedures established in this administrative order. Parties in cases in the pro se section shall ask the pro se staff for information on procedures that may differ from procedures established in this administrative order.

Mediation is mandatory in all cases in which there remains a disputed issue, unless the court finds that there has been a history of domestic violence that would compromise the mediation process. In all cases in which a trial for two (2) or more hours is anticipated, the parties shall attend mediation prior to scheduling the trial unless mediation is waived by the court.

Either party may file a motion requesting an order for mediation. The motion shall state whether or not a domestic violence injunction for protection exists between the parties. Furthermore, the motion shall indicate whether the parties have a history of domestic violence that would compromise the mediation process. Any party may request, by written motion with good cause stated, that mediation be waived.

Orders of mediation of all issues, or issues other than parental issues, shall be substantially in the form set forth in Appendix One. Orders of mediation of parental issues only, to be conducted by Tenth Circuit Mediation Services or a privately retained mediator, shall be substantially in the form set forth in Appendix Two.

This section does not apply to mediation in Department of Revenue Cases. Instead, see In Re: Establishment of Procedures for Parents in Department of Revenue Cases to Obtain an Order Establishing Primary Residence and/or A Visitation Schedule With the Minor Children At Issue, Administrative Order No. 5-37.0.

All trials must be scheduled in accordance with Rule 1.440, Florida Rules of Civil Procedure; Rule 12.440, Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure; by stipulation; or as otherwise provided by the Florida Rules of Judicial Administration.

In all family law cases in which a trial for two (2) hours or more is anticipated, the attorney shall submit a notice that the cause is at issue. The court will then schedule a case management conference. An order scheduling the case management conference, substantially in accordance with the form set forth in Appendix Three, will be entered. Matters to be considered at the case management conference shall include: (a) whether disputed issues might be resolved by mediation; (b) scheduling future proceedings, including a pretrial conference (if deemed necessary) and the final hearing; (c) the case management stipulation; (d) discovery, including completion dates; and (e) any other issues provided by Rule 12.200, Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure.

A final hearing scheduled for less than two (2) hours will not require a pretrial or a case management conference unless ordered by the court on its own motion or the motion of a party; however, the attorney scheduling the hearing shall consult and coordinate with opposing counsel as to the length of time required and the date. The notice shall comply with Section 7 below.

The court may schedule other case management conferences as authorized by law.

Before the case management conference, counsel shall confer and agree upon a case management stipulation, which shall include the following:

Issues to be tried;

Preliminary trial witness and trial exhibit lists;

Updated financial affidavits if there have been material changes in a party’s financial condition since execution of the party’s most recently filed financial affidavit; and

The status of mediation efforts.

The case management stipulation shall be prepared by counsel for the petitioner or, if the petitioner is unrepresented, by counsel for the respondent, and shall be filed with the clerk. A copy shall be provided to the judge at least twenty-four (24) hours before the scheduled conference.

REASONABLE TIME

"Reasonable Time" as set forth in Rule 12.090, Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure, and Rule 1.090, Florida Rules of Civil Procedure shall be deemed to be not less than five (5) business days except upon a finding of emergency status by the judge before whom such motion is heard. If motions/pleadings are not timely filed, the court may continue the hearing to a later date.

ORIGINAL MOTIONS

All original motions shall be filed with the Clerk of the Court. When a motion is scheduled for hearing, a copy of said motion shall be furnished directly to the judge along with a copy of the notice of hearing.

An original motion for rehearing shall be filed with the Clerk of Court, and a copy of the motion for rehearing must be submitted to the judge’s office.

All motions shall include the section number to which the case is assigned. The section number shall be placed beneath the case number.

EX PARTE RELIEF

Any motion seeking ex parte relief, i.e. a motion for rule to show cause or a motion for emergency relief, must be verified by the party seeking the relief, or the motion must have a supporting affidavit of the party attached.

SCHEDULING TRIALS AND HEARINGS

The judicial assistant for the judge assigned to a case will schedule all hearings unless the judge schedules a hearing at a pretrial or case management conference. A party or attorney desiring to schedule a trial or hearing may obtain available dates from the judicial assistant. Attorneys shall request adequate time to hear their motion. When requesting hearing time, the attorney setting the hearing should consider how much time opposing counsel will need to defend the motion. At the hearing, it is the responsibility of opposing counsel to inform the court of the time to defend the motion, not to exceed fifty percent (50%) of the time reserved. All hearing dates shall be cleared with opposing counsel prior to notices being filed. This fact shall be shown on the face of the notice itself by inserting the following: "The above hearing has been cleared with opposing counsel’s calendar on (date)." In the alternative, if counsel’s good faith attempt to clear a hearing has been unsuccessful, the following language shall be used: "The above hearing date has not been cleared with opposing counsel’s calendar because (factual statement)."

NOTICES OF HEARING

All notices of hearing shall be on a paper separate from the pleading for which the hearing is scheduled unless it is clearly drawn to the viewer’s attention by the words "Notice of Hearing" being part of the title of the pleading for which the hearing is scheduled. All notices of hearing shall clearly specify the purpose, place, date, time and length of the hearing. All notices of hearing shall comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Copies of the notice of hearing shall be served on all parties and the judge.

For all final hearings, even after a default has been entered, counsel setting the hearing shall provide a copy of the notice of hearing to opposing counsel and any unrepresented opposing party.

ADDITIONAL MOTIONS

Counsel shall not notice additional motions to be heard at the same time as motions previously noticed for hearing unless both counsel determine that the docket will accommodate the additional motion(s) at the scheduled time, and both counsel stipulate that all motions can be heard at the same time, the judicial assistant is informed, and an amended notice of hearing is served.

CANCELLATION OF HEARINGS

All hearings scheduled for two (2) hours or more may not be canceled without the mutual consent of the attorneys and approval of the court. Other hearings may be canceled only by the attorney setting the hearing, and only with the consent of opposing counsel.

CONTINUANCES

Pursuant to Rule 2.085(c) of the Florida Rules of Judicial Administration, "All motions for continuance shall be in writing unless made at trial and, except for good cause shown, shall be signed by the party requesting the continuance."

All motions for continuance shall include a statement that opposing counsel has been contacted and that opposing counsel either agrees or disagrees with said continuance request.

CONTENTS OF ORDER

The order or final judgment shall contain:

(1) A title with a description stating the issue, pleading, or motion ruled upon. The description SHALL NOT simply recite "order" or "final judgment."

(2) An introductory paragraph reciting:

(a) the date(s) on which the hearing was held;

(b) the parties present and their respective counsel, if any, and;

(c) the title of all motions ruled upon by the order.

(3) Findings of fact and conclusions of law announced by the court.

(4) Judgments and orders announced by the court.

FORMAT

(5) All orders and judgments submitted to the court shall be on blank stationery.

(6) The signature block of the order shall include the name of the presiding judge followed by the words "Circuit Judge" and shall not include terms such as "The Honorable" or "Honorable," unless otherwise authorized by the court.

SUBMITTING PROPOSED ORDERS

Every proposed order or judgment shall be submitted by the attorney designated by the court for signature within ten (10) working days after the decision. In the event the designated attorney fails to submit a proposed order or judgment within said ten (10) working days, the opposing attorney or unrepresented party may submit a proposed order or judgment within ten (10) working days after certifying that he/she has made a good faith effort to contact the designated attorney and has received no reason for the delay.

In the event this rule is not complied with, the court may consider imposing appropriate sanctions against the attorneys.

OBJECTIONS TO PROPOSED ORDERS

The judicial assistants will hold any proposed order or final judgment for five (5) working days after receiving it to allow opposing counsel or unrepresented party time to file any objections to it. If the judicial assistant receives no objection within five (5) working days, the order or final judgment shall be entered if approved by the court. Objections made by telephone must be followed up by a written explanation to the court and opposing counsel or unrepresented party within five (5) working days of the telephone objection. Opposing counsel should notify the judicial assistant when there are no objections so the order can be distributed before the five (5) working days period. Upon receipt of any written objection, the judicial assistant shall present the matter to the judge for resolution.

COPIES

Copies of all orders and judgments entered in family law cases shall be mailed to the litigants, attorneys, and appropriate agencies, except when the orders or judgments are distributed in court. The attorney preparing the proposed order or judgment shall furnish the court with stamped addressed envelopes for such purposes with the return address to read:

(Name of Judge)

Circuit Judge

P.O. Box 9000, Drawer ______

Bartow, Florida 33831-9000

(The title "Honorable" shall not be used on the return address)

The judicial assistant will file any returned copies in the court file and notify the appropriate attorney. It will then be the responsibility of the attorney to attempt service.

A proposed final judgment reflecting that the parties have entered into a marital settlement agreement shall set forth all of the provisions of the settlement agreement, unless otherwise authorized by the court. The final judgment shall reflect that the parties are ordered to comply with each separate provision of the agreement.

If the final judgment is intended to act as a transfer of legal title to any asset that requires a title, the subject property shall be properly identified by identification number, legal description, certificate number, account number, VIN number, etc.

It shall be the responsibility of the party offering a non-English speaking witness to provide a disinterested qualified interpreter at the initial expense of the offering party.

Prior to any hearing, all documents intended for admission into evidence shall have exhibit identification information premarked in a form suitable for receipt into evidence. The exhibit label shall be in substantially the following format:

The party submitting the exhibit shall fill in all blanks on the label except "admitted" and "excluded."

Upon receipt of a petition initiating a domestic relations case involving: dissolution of marriage, paternity, child support, custody, alimony, custody unconnected with a dissolution, or child support unconnected with a dissolution, cases will be assigned pursuant to administrative orders to be entered in the future. Until such orders are promulgated, the clerk in each county will assign cases pursuant to established procedures in effect at the time this order is entered. Any party filing an initial or responsive pleading shall list on a separate page any other case(s) in the circuit in which they or their child(ren) are a party; for all such cases, the list shall include the name(s) of any other child(ren) or other party involved in the listed cases. On a second separate page, to be sealed by the court, any party filing shall list the names and social security numbers of the parties and any child or other party involved in the cases listed in the first list. If the court determines that the same parties were involved in a previously filed action, the court may order the subsequently filed case to be consolidated with the lower case number if consolidation is permitted by applicable law, rules, or orders, or may order that the cases be coordinated without consolidation.

The following language shall be used in court orders wherein a support balance in one case is to be transferred to another case:

"The Domestic Relations Department is hereby directed to transfer the outstanding balance of support due in Case No: ____________ to the account in the instant case."

Effective dates shall be included in the order if applicable.

Counsel may request the court to appoint a guardian ad litem. The motion requesting appointment of a guardian ad litem ("GAL") shall be in writing unless otherwise authorized by the court. The party seeking appointment of a guardian ad litem must schedule a hearing on the matter before the court. The moving party shall provide notice of the hearing to the Guardian Ad Litem’s office.

Because of a shortage of GAL volunteers, all cases in which appointment of the program is requested will be subjected to a standardized case prioritization matrix and will be assigned based on an objective scoring system determined by the GAL’s office, subject to approval of the court. If appointed, the GAL’s office shall prepare the order, unless otherwise directed by the court. Once appointed, the GAL program is a party to the case and shall be served with all orders, notices, pleadings, motions, and other documents placed in the court file.

Unless otherwise ordered by the court, reasonable child visitation is defined as set forth in the Child Visitation Guidelines provided in Appendix Four.

ORDERED on this 9th day of May, 2005.

RONALD A. HERRING

Chief Judge

Appendices: (PDF)
Appendix 1
Appendix 2
Appendix 3
Appendix 4