1.0 Law & Legal CLE Credit – A/V Approval #1083042 Recording Date - September 20, 2018 Recording Availability – October 19, 2018 Meeting Location Date Time Topic King County Bar Association 1200 Fifth Avenue - Suite 700 Seattle, WA Thursday, September 20, 2018 12:00 PM to 1:15 PM Ex Parte Department of the King County Superior Court AGENDA 12:00 PM Introduction 12:10 PM Presentation: ‘Ex Parte Department of the King County Superior Court’, by Nadia Simpson, King County Superior Court and Patricia Pizzuto, King County Superior Court Navigating the King County Ex Parte Department A brief overview of the Ex Parte and Probate Department including tips and tricks, FAQ and Q&A 1:15 PM Adjourn SPEAKER BIOGRAPHY Nadia Simpson, King County Superior Court – Nadia Simpson received a Masters in Public Administration from the California State University, Chico. Nadia also obtained a Masters Certificate in Judicial Administration from California State University, Sacramento. Nadia is currently the Supervisor of the Ex Parte and Arbitration departments and Guardian ad Litem Registry for the King County Superior Court. In her current position Nadia provides operational support to the Ex Parte Department Commissioners, manages both staff and policy for the Ex Parte and Arbitration departments and coordinates the oversight of over two hundred King County Guardian ad Litem. Patricia Pizzuto, King County Superior Court – Ms. Pizzuto has 20 years’ experience with the King County Department of Judicial Administration-first as a deputy and then courtroom clerk, working in calendar courts such as Criminal presiding, Drug Court, Family Law and then to Ex Parte, where she spent many years as Commissioner Velategui’s clerk. In July 2017 Patty was offered and accepted the Ex Parte Coordinator position. As Ex Parte coordinator, Patty assists pro se litigants, guiding them through the guardianship process, as well as managing the scheduling of Pro tems, managing the delinquency calendar with Nadia Simpson, and working with the Court Commissioners and Judges to ensure the smooth running of the department.
Transcript
1.0 Law & Legal CLE Credit – A/V Approval #1083042 Recording Date - September 20, 2018 Recording Availability – October 19, 2018
Meeting Location Date Time Topic
King County Bar Association 1200 Fifth Avenue - Suite 700
Seattle, WA
Thursday, September 20, 2018
12:00 PM to 1:15 PM
Ex Parte Department of the King County
Superior Court
AGENDA 12:00 PM Introduction 12:10 PM Presentation: ‘Ex Parte Department of the King County Superior Court’, by Nadia
Simpson, King County Superior Court and Patricia Pizzuto, King County Superior Court
Navigating the King County Ex Parte Department
A brief overview of the Ex Parte and Probate Department including tips and tricks, FAQ and Q&A
1:15 PM Adjourn
SPEAKER BIOGRAPHY Nadia Simpson, King County Superior Court – Nadia Simpson received a Masters in Public Administration from the California State University, Chico. Nadia also obtained a Masters Certificate in Judicial Administration from California State University, Sacramento. Nadia is currently the Supervisor of the Ex Parte and Arbitration departments and Guardian ad Litem Registry for the King County Superior Court. In her current position Nadia provides operational support to the Ex Parte Department Commissioners, manages both staff and policy for the Ex Parte and Arbitration departments and coordinates the oversight of over two hundred King County Guardian ad Litem. Patricia Pizzuto, King County Superior Court – Ms. Pizzuto has 20 years’ experience with the King County Department of Judicial Administration-first as a deputy and then courtroom clerk, working in calendar courts such as Criminal presiding, Drug Court, Family Law and then to Ex Parte, where she spent many years as Commissioner Velategui’s clerk. In July 2017 Patty was offered and accepted the Ex Parte Coordinator position. As Ex Parte coordinator, Patty assists pro se litigants, guiding them through the guardianship process, as well as managing the scheduling of Pro tems, managing the delinquency calendar with Nadia Simpson, and working with the Court Commissioners and Judges to ensure the smooth running of the department.
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Kimberly ProchnauCarlos VelateguiEric WatnessTerrence Wong
Ex Parte - Staff
Nadia Simpson
• Oversee operations and supervise staff.
• Staff Lead for Ex Parte Committee.
• Manage Probate Review Calendar.
• Manage GAL Program.
• Staff rep. for external committees.
• Provide Judicial Support.
• DO ANYTHING THAT NEEDS DOING!
Patricia (Patty) Pizzuto
• Provide Judicial Support.
• Process Requests for Reconsideration/GDN
Complaints.
• Staffs Probate Review Calendar.
• Respond to phone/email/mail inquiries.
• Other general bailiff-like duties as assigned.
County Guardian Ad Litem - Keith Thomsen
• County (Public) Pay cases only.
• 20 GAL Appointments per month.
• Kent - three cases per week and four in Seattle.
• Hearings must be set between 45 days and 60 days from appointment.
• Three cases each per month absent prior written authorization from Nadia.
• Prior approval required to assign more than the 20 cases per month.
Ex Parte – How it Works
Ex Parte – The Rules
• LCR 40.1 EX PARTE AND PROBATE DEPARTMENT
• LCR 98.04 Estates - Probate - Notices
• LCR 98.16 Trust and Estate Dispute Resolution Act and Power of Attorney
• LCR 98.20 Settlement of Claims of Minors and Incapacitated Persons
• LGALR (1-7) Local Guardian Ad Litem Rules
• Ex Parte is a special department of Superior Court assigned responsibility, under Local Court Rules, for Probate, certain short matters and emergency or unopposed orders.
• All unassigned probate, guardianship, TEDRA, minor settlement matters a set in Ex Parte.
• Administers GAL program, Guardianship Complaints, Probate and Guardianship Delinquency Calendars. (206) 477-2517
Ex Parte and Probate Department
• DJA (Clerk) Staff processes a variety of legal documents for Civil cases into SCOMIS. They index new cases, process subsequent documents filed in the case and prepare and print calendars for the court. The team maintains accuracy of SCOMIS by updating the name, docket, basic, track and event screens when processing documents. Send out Order to Appear on Delinquency Calendar and initiate fees for incompliance. (206) 477-0808
Clerk Probate and Audit Department
• DJA (Clerk) Staff initiate new cases, assigns case numbers, randomly assigns judges, and issues initial case schedules; Issues receipts for payments, Issues writs, civil warrants, probate letters, and other official documents; and facilitates the ‘Ex Parte via the Clerk’ processes (including receiving, processing, and returning submissions). (206) 477-0848
Ex Parte via the Clerk
Ex Parte – Tips and Tricks for Navigating Three Departments!
Ex Parte via the Clerk Tips
• Check the Master List
• Notice – matters submitted are either:
(a) Agreed/stipulated – all parties must sign; OR
(b) No notice to any other party is required – provide authority
• Everything necessary for a decision must be included in your submission
• The Court may not look up a missing pleading. If you filed it earlier attach as exhibit.
Ex Parte via the Clerk Tips – Continued
• Unsigned orders may be denied
• (a) Actual signature (PDF or PASTED), or (b) Some notation that equates to a signature /s[Name] is sufficient
• Matters noted for hearing will be denied – file a Notice to Strike and include with submission.
Tip! Ex Parte Department and Ex Parte via the Clerk are separate departments.
If you have any questions regarding e-filing, the status of a submitted order, or general information about the Ex Parte via the Clerk process, please contact a Clerk's Office subject matter expert.
Anniversary date only changes if all guardians and all trustees are discharged and a new successor
guardian is appointed (LCR 98.20)• Upon signing of the order appointing guardian or declaring a trust
and appointing a trustee, the next report shall be within 90 days of the anniversary of the appointment.
• (3) Guardianships with multiple guardians and/or trustees shall have all reports due on the anniversary of the appointment of the first guardian/trustee. The court may designate a different term (i.e. annual, biennial or triennial) for the guardian or trustee report.
• (4) If a successor guardian or trustee is appointed, reports shall be due on the anniversary of that appointment.
Ex Parte - Probate/Audit Tips
Technically only the reporting period (cycle) can be changed (12,
24 and 36). The rules do not provide for changing of
anniversary date.
• LCR 98.20 (5) Any changes to the reporting cycle of a guardian or trustee shall be approved by the court on a form provided by the Clerk’s Office.
• Must use approved form to change reporting periods. Inclusion in body of order is not sufficient.
Opening a Probate Tips
• Include language in the Oath or verified Petition that the personal representative must be a Washington resident (or have an appointment of resident agent and acceptance by that person at the time of appointment), cannot be a felon and cannot be convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude.
• Bond MUST be addressed. Omission does not constitute a waiver of bond. If the Order Appointing Personal Representative does not address bond the matter will be placed on the delinquency calendar.
• For cases in which Personal Representative or Administrator are granted non-intervention powers, RCW 11.28.050 allows the Court to give notice to the personal representative to appear for a hearing at which the Court may consider grounds for removal such as, wrongfully neglecting the estate or neglecting to perform any acts as personal representative. Therefore, at no such time shall the action go more than 12 months without case activity or reporting to the Court.
More Tips…
Oaths need to be signed exactly as listed in the order appointing Guardian/Trustee.• Per local rule 98.20 If the order uses full middle name, the oath should also be signed with
the full middle name.
Please address the loss of voting rights, whether lost or retained in orders appointing guardians.
• Per RCW 11.88.010 The court order establishing a guardianship shall specify whether or not the individual retains voting rights. When a court determines that the person is incompetent for the purpose of rationally exercising the right to vote, the court shall notify the appropriate county auditor.
Per LCR 98.20 It is the duty of the GAL to file the NRLVR. Failure to do so will result in placement on the delinquency calendar.
Substitute v. Successor
There is no such thing as a substitute guardian. The rules and law only discuss “successor” guardians.
• Any change in guardian requires new reporting periods unless approved “on a form provided by the Clerk’s Office” (LCR 98.20 (c)(4-5).
• This includes when an individual CPG joins a larger organization. This is a material change in responsibility over the incapacitated individual.
• RCW 11.92.043 requires the care plan be filed with any appointment.
• The Court will review for Final Report, discharge, PCP, INV, new bond oath etc. unless there is language in the order specifically discharging this duty.
• Simply changing the language does not discharge these statutory duties.
• Causes administrative complexity and extraneous use of judicial time.
Ex Parte – Sealing Documents
• See LGR 15; Seattle Times v. Ishikawa factors - 97 Wash. 2d 30, 38, 640 P.2d 716, 720 (1982)
• (1) Specific showing of specific need for sealing/redacting – if the interest sought to be protected by the proposed sealing is other than an individual’s right to a fair trial, a “serious and imminent threat to some other important interest” must be shown;(2) Anyone present when the closure [and/or sealing] motion is made must be given an opportunity to object to the [suggested restriction];(3) Court should analyze and impose the least restrictive remedy; if the issue is anything other than the party’s 6th Amendment rights, burden of this showing is on the proponent;(4) Court must weigh competing interests of proponent and the public, which consideration must be described in specific findings; AND (5) Order, if entered, should be no broader than is necessary, i.e., limited by time, etc.
• Petition to Seal must be noted for hearing.
• Orders cannot be signed by a Pro Tem.
• Only guardianships and minor settlements may use GR22 cover sheets. They may not be used in estates or trusts.
Please don’t file PCP or Inventory under seal. If necessary, you can file a redacted copy and a separate sealed document under a GR22 cover sheet. Superior court and clerk monitor for PCP and INV. If it is only filed
under seal, it will just appear as sealed financial or sealed health care document on the docket and the matter will be placed on delinquency calendar.
Probate Review – How it Works
Probate Review – How it Works
CLERK AUDIT/PROBATE STAFF
• Set up designated cases for compliance review according to state law and local rules.
• Conduct compliance reviews according to set schedule.
• Set initial Guardianship Delinquency hearings, send out Order to Appear on Guardianship Delinquency Calendar.
• Issue incompliance fees.
• Contact: Lauri Nelson, 206-477-0808
FACILITATOR/COORDINATOR
• Research delinquent cases.
• Determine the nature of the delinquency.
• Contact parties to arrange compliance.
• Review forms/actions for compliance.
• Recommend progressive sanctions.
• Complete proposed Order on Case Review for
judicial signature.
• Contact: Ex Parte Department, 206-477-2517
Questions?EMAIL US ANYTIME
Nadia Camille Simpson
Court Operations Supervisor, Guardian Ad Litem Program Manager
