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Judge Garcia's Standing Order- Probate (Decedent's Estates/Guardianships)- River Valley Courtroom 2- Updated 1/22/2025

  1. Zoom will remain in effect until further Order:
    • Any attorney or litigant may attend via Zoom unless directed by the Court to attend in person.
    • Evidentiary Hearings and Citation Returns shall be in person.
    • Individuals who habitually have difficulty appearing remotely, e.g., connectivity issue, inability to mute/unmute, or technical difficulties, will be required to appear in person.
    • Adoptions are not heard via Zoom – parties are to appear in person on Mondays at 1:30 p.m. on their scheduled court date.

 

  1. Odyssey and Proposed orders
    • All orders should be sent to my queue.
    • Do NOT file Proposed Orders in Odyssey prior to the scheduled court date; it just gums up the system.
    • Orders should be correctly dated, prior to submission.
    • Do NOT email me proposed orders.

 

  1. Courtesy Copies
    • Do NOT send courtesy copies unless specifically requested by the Court.

 

  1. The Call will start at 9:00 a.m.

 

  1. All Motions shall be set for presentment at 9:00 a.m.
    • Hearings for relatively short matters will be set at 10:00 a.m. 
    • More lengthy matters and evidentiary hearings will be set at 1:30 p.m.

 

  1. Opening and Closing an Estate
    • Have your Affidavit of Heirship on file prior to Court, as well as any receipts, vouchers, etc.

 

  1. In Court Orders
    • If you are appearing in Court, I would prefer Orders to be filled out and presented contemporaneously.  It lessens the work my Clerk is required to do once Court is over.
    • All Orders setting hearings for "all pending matters" will be rejected.  Be specific if you want me to prepare.

 

  1. Emails
    • Please restrict emails to emergencies only, e.g., emergency motions.
    • All parties must be carbon copied in any email sent to the Court.