Tuesday, January 31, 2017
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Los Angeles Superior Court to Require Electronic Filing for Probate Cases
By a MetNews Staff Writer
The Los Angeles Superior Court will require electronic filing for virtually all probate cases, effective June 5, the court said in a release.
The statement, dated Friday, said that e-filing would be mandatory for all parties represented by attorneys, subject to limited exceptions, and that filers will have to use an electronic filing service provider. Self-represented litigants will be permitted, but not required, to file electronically.
The new process was made possible by the “state of the art technology” that the court implemented last May to replace its aging probate case management system, the release said.
E-filing will eliminate the need for filers to travel to the downtown or Lancaster courthouse, the major locations for probate cases since budget cuts forced the consolidation of probate—and many other—services four years ago.
The court detailed the following exceptions to mandatory e-filing for represented parties:
•Peremptory challenges or challenges for cause of a judicial officer;
•Original testamentary instruments, such as wills and codicils, letters, original trust documents, and bond or undertaking documents;
•Trial and hearing exhibits;
•Documents filed in civil cases that are related for handling in the probate division; and
•Lodged documents.
All electronically filed documents received after midnight will be deemed filed as of the next business day, the court said. The release added that instructions for using electronic filing service providers will be available on the court’s website by April 1, and that case management systems for other case types will also be replaced over the next 18 months.
Copyright 2017, Metropolitan News Company