| Adopted Date: | 06/12/2025 |
|---|---|
| Effective Date: | 07/01/2025 |
| Updates: | Adopted June 12, 2025, effective July 1, 2025 |
- This page, Probate and Family Court Standing Order 3-25: Trial completion, is offered by
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Probate and Family Court Rules
Probate and Family Court Rules Probate and Family Court Standing Order 3-25: Trial completion
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Table of Contents
Standing Order 3-25
- Applicability. This Standing Order shall apply to all trials first commenced on or after the effective date of this Standing Order. The provisions of this Standing Order supersede any contrary provision found in Standing Order 1-06 - Case Management and Time Standards for Cases Filed in the Probate and Family Court Department.
- Purpose. The purpose of this Standing Order is to improve the efficiency and fairness of the Probate and Family Court by affording litigants trials that are completed within a reasonable time after commencement of trial.
- Sequential Trial Days. Consistent with the goal of affording litigants trials that are completed within a reasonable time after commencement of trial, trial days shall be scheduled on sequential days or as close to sequential days as the calendar of the trial judge permits absent exigent circumstances that would require a further extension for completion.
- Cooperation from Litigants and Attorneys of Record. When a trial does not finish within the timeframe originally scheduled, the Court shall order litigants and attorneys of record to prioritize the further scheduling of the trial and to take all steps necessary to accommodate the trial judge’s schedule.
- Minimizing Intervals Between Trial Days. When a trial does not finish within the timeframe originally scheduled, the Court shall promptly schedule, on the earliest available date(s) that are within thirty (30) calendar days from the last scheduled trial date, the trial time needed to complete the trial.
- Scheduling. If there are no available trial dates in which to schedule the remaining trial time, trials already scheduled but not yet begun in the thirty-day window shall be moved to a later date on the trial judge’s schedule. Scheduled motion, contempt, and pre-trial dates shall not be used for trial dates unless alternate coverage is secured.
- Time Limits. It is the responsibility of each attorney or self-represented litigant to provide the court with a reasonably accurate estimate of the additional time required for completion of trial. The court may impose a reasonable time limitation upon attorneys and self-represented litigants to present their cases, within the confines of due process, in order to ensure a timely and fair disposition from the court. Once a judge has determined how much additional time is needed to complete a trial, litigants and attorneys of record shall complete the trial in the additional time scheduled.
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Probate and Family Court Standing Order 3-2025, effective July 1, 2025
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