[WSBAPT] King County Ex Parte Emergency Orders - Probate & Guardianship

[Eric Nelsen]

Update for King County practitioners-looks like we should be submitting ALL our motion and other documents via the usual channels, but if there is to be a hearing, we also send electronic copies to scexparte at kingcounty.gov<mailto:scexparte at kingcounty.gov>. I just received an email after inquiring about a hearing this week, email cut and pasted below-see #2 below regarding electronic copies, but #3 on working papers.

Hello,

In order to reduce unnecessary exposure to COVID-19 within the community, the Ex Parte and Probate Department will seek to accomadate telephone appearances to the extent possible. Prior authorization for telephone appearances is necessary, so all parties and/or counsel who wish to attend any matter telephonically have the responsibility for arranging a conference call from the courtroom at the time set for the hearing.

Procedure:


  1.  If you have hearings scheduled in the next 14 days at which you wish to appear telephonically, please complete the below information and return it to SCEXPARTE at KINGCOUNTY.GOV<mailto:SCEXPARTE at KINGCOUNTY.GOV> as soon as possible.


  1.  In addition to the below form, please provide to the Court electronic copies of the Motion, and a signed proposed Order via email to SCEXPARTE at kingcounty.gov<mailto:SCEXPARTE at kingcounty.gov>. These documents must be submitted within the timelines required by the Local Rules (e.g. LCR 7, LCR(s) 98.04/.18/.20 etc.).


  1.  Additionally, hardcopy working papers MUST be received in a timely manner consistent with the relevant rules in order for the matter to proceed.


  1.  A continuance requiring an in-person hearing may be issued in the event a matter is contested, or the court otherwise deems to be in the interests of the fair and efficient administration of justice.


Please note that due to the volume of requests the department is re, you may not receive a confirmation email back immediately if your hearing is not within the next 48 hours. If you have not received a confirmation email within 48 hours of your hearing please call Nadia Simpson at 206-263-7997.

Date of Hearing

Time of Hearing

Cause Number

Case Name

Party(s) Appearing By Phone

Contact Phone Number

Email Address

Working Papers Submitted?

Working Papers Confirmed?

How Will Order Be Returned? (Mail/Email/ECR)



We appreciate your patience as we attempt to navigate this complex time in a way that protects the health and safety of everyone at court facilities while maintaining access to justice for all court users. More detailed instructions regarding this process will be forthcoming in the next few days.

If you have any questions or concerns about this process please contact Nadia Simpson at Nadia.Simpson at kingcounty.gov<mailto:Nadia.Simpson at kingcounty.gov>.

Best,

Ex Parte and Probate Department
King County Superior Court


Sincerely,

Eric

Eric C. Nelsen
Sayre Law Offices, PLLC
1417 31st Ave South
Seattle WA 98144-3909
206-625-0092
eric at sayrelawoffices.com

From: Eric Nelsen
Sent: Monday, March 16, 2020 12:44 PM
To: WSBA Probate & Trust Listserv <wsbapt at lists.wsbarppt.com>
Subject: King County Ex Parte Emergency Orders - Probate & Guardianship

All-I haven't seen much discussion here regarding Ex Parte procedures in King County, though perhaps I missed it. At any rate-there are a number of emergency orders in place. Order #4 attached is most relevant to probate and guardianship matters. All orders can be found at: https://www.kingcounty.gov/courts/superior-court.aspx, which is not the Clerk's website, so I've been missing them because I usually just go to the Clerk's site.

Per Order #4 issued on Friday, the general gist is:

  *   If you can submit ex parte via the clerk, you must.
  *   If you have an unavoidable hearing, arrange for telephonic appearance if you can-you are "strongly encouraged" to do so. You can call or email ex parte to arrange for that. Email is scexparte at kingcounty.gov<mailto:scexparte at kingcounty.gov>.
  *   You should provide the proposed order via email "to the extent practicable" to scexparte at kingcounty.gov<mailto:scexparte at kingcounty.gov>, but you still must provide paper working copies either via the Clerk's service or by delivering them to the mailroom. Note that the delivery is to the mailroom, not directly to Ex Parte in the usual manner.

Order #4 also has a lot of specific rules relating to Guardianships-best to read it, there's too much to summarize easily.

Re Probates, you can't start a probate via walk-in. You must submit via the Clerk, which means if you have an original Will it's got to be delivered to the Clerk. If a hearing is required, you still set it and should request telephonic appearance.

Also there are lots of other items relating to adoptions, family law hearings, and so forth, both in the attached and in the other emergency orders on the court's website-we're up to emergency order #6 at this point, issued today regarding family law matters. I'm just mentioning here what I saw relating to probates and guardianships.

Sincerely,

Eric

Eric C. Nelsen
Sayre Law Offices, PLLC
1417 31st Ave South
Seattle WA 98144-3909
206-625-0092
eric at sayrelawoffices.com<mailto:eric at sayrelawoffices.com>

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