Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Florida

This this sets forth the rule that uncontested probate matters should be concluded and closed within one year (contested in 2 years). If not completed in that the court must report the open case to the Supreme Court. Generally a court will administratively close a probate case in that time if good cause is not shown.

RULE 2.250. TIME STANDARDS FOR TRIAL AND

APPELLATE COURTS AND REPORTING

REQUIREMENTS

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(a) Time Standards. The following time standards are hereby established

as a presumptively reasonable time period for the completion of cases in the

trial and appellate courts of this state. It is recognized that there are cases

that, because of their complexity, present problems that cause reasonable

delays. However, most cases should be completed within the following time

periods:

(1) Trial Court Time Standards.

(A) Criminal.

Felony � 180 days (arrest to final disposition)

Misdemeanor � 90 days (arrest to final disposition)

(B) Civil.

Jury cases � 18 months (filing to final disposition)

Non-jury cases � 12 months (filing to final disposition)

Small claims � 95 days (filing to final disposition)

(C) Domestic Relations.

Uncontested � 90 days (filing to final disposition)

Contested � 180 days (filing to final disposition)

(D) Probate.

Uncontested, no federal estate tax return � 12 months (from issuance

of letters of administration to final discharge)

Uncontested, with federal estate tax return � 12 months (from the

return�s due date to final discharge)

Contested � 24 months (from filing to final discharge)

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(E) Juvenile Delinquency.

Disposition hearing � 120 days (filing of petition or child being taken

into custody to hearing)

Disposition hearing (child detained) � 36 days (date of detention to

hearing)

(F) Juvenile Dependency.

Disposition hearing (child sheltered) � 88 days (shelter hearing to

disposition)

Disposition hearing (child not sheltered) � 120 days (filing of petition

for dependency to hearing)

(G) Permanency Proceedings.

Permanency hearing � 12 months (date child is sheltered to hearing)

(2) Supreme Court and District Courts of Appeal Time Standards:

Rendering a decision � within 180 days of either oral argument or the

submission of the case to the court panel for a decision without oral

argument

(3) Florida Bar Referee Time Standards: Report of referee � within

180 days of being assigned to hear the case

(4) Circuit Court Acting as Appellate Court:

Ninety days from submission of the case to the judge for review

(b) Reporting of Cases. The time standards require that the following

monitoring procedures be implemented:

All pending cases in circuit and district courts of appeal exceeding the

time standards shall be listed separately on a report submitted quarterly to

the chief justice. The report shall include for each case listed the case

number, type of case, case status (active or inactive for civil cases and

contested or uncontested for domestic relations and probate cases), the date

of arrest in criminal cases, and the original filing date in civil cases. The

Office of the State Courts Administrator will provide the necessary forms for

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submission of this data. The report will be due on the 15th day of the month