Effective June 15, 2020, Courtroom J6 has permanently adopted the following modified calendar. The maximum number of cases on a particular calendar is provided below. By reorganizing the calendar in this manner, we can more easily handle our ever-increasing number of cases for the foreseeable future.
MONDAYS
9:00 TRIALS/HEARINGS/MSCs – to be set as needed.
TUESDAYS (Conservatorships/Guardianships)
9:00 Regular Motions (20 MAX)
10:30 Care Plans/I&As/Annual & Biennial Status Reports (No MAX)
WEDNESDAYS (Probate/Trust)
9:00 Regular Motions (20 MAX)
10:30 Post Mediation Status Conferences (Set by Judge – no tentative rulings issued prior to hearings)
THURSDAYS (Probate/Trust)
9:00 Regular Motions (20 MAX)
10:30 New Probate Petitions only (20 Max)
FRIDAYS (New Conservatorships/Guardianships only)
9:00 New Conservatorship/Guardianship Petitions only (10 max)
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WALK-THROUGH STIPULATED PETITIONS. A procedure called Walk-Through Stipulated Petitions has been implemented for appropriate probate, trust and conservatorship cases. Most cases will be routine petitions confirming assets of a trust, eliminating the B trust in AB trusts, appointing successor trustees, executors or conservators, petitions for final distribution on waiver of account, and other relatively routine 17200 petitions. The purpose of this procedure is to provide an expedited manner to resolve the many probate, trust and conservatorship petitions that are consented to by all parties entitled to notice and otherwise do not require a hearing. A petition for probate, for example, would NOT be an appropriate stipulated petition because of the publication and hearing requirements. Be sure the public defender or appointed counsel executes the consent/waiver of notice in cases in which they are appointed. These stipulated cases will never be calendared unless there is a defect that needs to be addressed, and these petitions will be expedited once received. Please submit them through the clerk’s office by appointment, eDelivery, or U.S. Mail.
WALK-THROUGH STIPULATION PETITION PROCEDURE. A party can walk in with a petition, a copy of the petition to be conformed or certified, a copy of just the pages of the petition containing the people entitled to notice (to be used by the Court as a worksheet), consents/waivers of notice by all parties entitled to notice, a check for the filing fee, an order, and a copy of anything you want to be conformed, as well as a a postage pre-paid self-addressed return envelope, and deliver the packet to the Court as explained above. Either the Court or a member of our probate legal research team will review the petition to check to see that all people entitled to notice have in fact waived notice and consent to the petition, and to check to see that nothing outrageous or inappropriate is asked for in the petition. Once those items are verified, the order will be signed by the Court and returned to the clerks office to file downstairs, or taken down by court staff for processing. The idea is to give very short turnaround time for these stipulated petitions. This procedure has reduced some of the congestion on our Wednesday and Thursday calendars, and provides a much quicker resolution to uncontested cases. In the long term, our ever-increasing caseloads will be able to be managed more efficiently to avoid the long delays between filing and hearing that you might experience in other counties. The following instruction should be helpful to you:
FOR NEW STIPULATED PETITION CASES TO BE FILED: Please prepare the petition and consents as one document, with the consents/waivers of notice tabbed at the bottom, and an extra copy only of the page(s) of the petition listing the people entitled to notice for the Court to use as a checklist/worksheet when going through the consents/waivers. Please also submit a proposed order as a separate document, as well as a check for the filing fee. The Court will review the petition as described above.
FOR ALL WALK-THROUGH STIPULATED PETITIONS: Counsel will be required to give notice of the order to all parties entitled to notice. If the petition is rejected for any reason it will be returned to counsel to file as a regularly noticed motion.
I hope you find this expedited procedure useful.
Judge Roger L. Lund
Presiding Probate Judge