Judge Garcia's Standing Order- Probate (Decedent's Estates/Guardianships)- River Valley Courtroom 2- Updated 1/22/2025
- 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.
- 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.
- Courtesy Copies
- Do NOT send courtesy copies unless specifically requested by the Court.
- The Call will start at 9:00 a.m.
- 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.
- Opening and Closing an Estate
- Have your Affidavit of Heirship on file prior to Court, as well as any receipts, vouchers, etc.
- 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.
- Emails
- Please restrict emails to emergencies only, e.g., emergency motions.
- All parties must be carbon copied in any email sent to the Court.