E-Filing and Physically Filing Documents with the Miami-Dade Clerk of Courts
Attorneys must e-file all documents, except for the documents listed below, through the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal. Attorneys can register with the Florida Courts e-Filing Portal below.
Attorneys must physically file the following documents with the Probate Clerk at Room 238 of the Miami-Dade County Courthouse at 73 West Flagler Street, Miami, Florida 33130:
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Original Wills
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Original Codicils
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Commissions
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Subpoenas
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Defaults
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Bonds
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Authenticated copies and exemplified copies (have raised seals) from other jurisdictions
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Original Death Certificates (please physically file within two working days of electronically filing the case and receiving a case number)
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Original Birth Certificates (please physically file within two working dates of electronically filing the case and receiving a case number)
Probate Checklists
Please review the estate and guardianship checklists to learn what information is required to support specific petitions. Please confirm compliance with these checklists in advance of a hearing or submission of a proposed order. These checklists are general requirements and additional information may be required in certain instances. For checklists, click here.
Probate Forms
Approved estate and guardianship Smart Form proposed orders are posted here. As per this Court’s July 11, 2016 Administrative Memo, attorneys must utilize these forms in lieu of the proposed orders and petitions prepared by attorneys. Judges may refuse to sign orders that do not use the Smart Forms. All proposed orders must be submitted in Word.
Mental Health Hearings
When: Tuesdays and Thursdays at 11:00 a.m. after the Ex Parte Calendar. If the calendar is full, the judge may provide other days and times.
How: Calendar is created when the Mental Health Clerk inputs docket entries. Mental Health files are confidential and not viewable through Odyssey Public Access. The Attorney of Record must go to the Mental Health Clerk’s Office to view any Mental Health case file.
Special Set Hearings
All petitions and motions must be filed and served upon all parties prior to scheduling a special set hearing with the judge’s judicial assistant. Counsel for the moving party shall confer with counsel representing the opposing party(ies) and attach to the motion a statement certifying that he/she has conferred with counsel for the opposing party(ies) in a good faith effort to resolve by agreement the issues raised, and that counsel have been unable to agree.
If introducing evidence into the record, attorneys may contact the judge's clerk to mark the evidence for identification purposes in advance of the hearing.
Please review the judge’s website to confirm the judge’s specific instructions for special set hearings.
Setting A Special Set Hearing
Contact the judge’s Judicial Assistant to set the special set hearing.
Procedures to Follow Prior to a Special Set Hearing
Submit Notices of Hearing, petitions, supporting case law and proposed orders to eCourtesy, selecting the Special Sets eCourtesy Folder, for the judge to review in advance of the hearing. The proposed order must be in Word. Please review the judge’s website to confirm how many days in advance to submit documents to eCourtesy and under what circumstances the judge prefers to receive physical binders of supporting documents instead of eCourtesy submissions. If the judge’s website does not indicate how many days in advance to submit documents to eCourtesy, please submit them ten days in advance.
Procedures to Follow After a Special Set Hearing
If the order was not signed at the Special Set Hearing, submit the petition and proposed order from the hearing along with a cover letter explaining the date and time of the hearing to eCourtesy, selecting the Post Hearing Orders eCourtesy Folder. The proposed order must be in Word.
Expedited and Emergency Petitions
First, all emergency or expedited petitions and motions must be e-filed and served upon all parties prior to consideration.
Then, attorneys must submit the petitions to be considered on an emergency basis by the assigned judge along with a proposed order to eCourtesy, selecting the Emergency Petitions Folder. The judicial assistant will contact the attorney within 48 hours. Any petition not deemed an emergency by the judge will be deleted.
For petitions to be considered on an emergency basis by the Emergency Judge, please contact the Emergency Judge's judicial assistant for instructions on setting an emergency or expedited hearing.
Petitions for Rehearing and/or Reconsideration
First, attorneys must e-file the petition for rehearing and/or reconsideration through the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal.
Then, attorneys must submit the petition for rehearing and/or reconsideration along with a proposed order to eCourtesy, selecting the Emergency Petitions eCourtesy Folder.
Petitions/Motions for Disqualification
First, attorneys must e-file the petition for disqualification through the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal.
Then, attorneys must submit the petition for disqualification along with a proposed order to eCourtesy, selecting the Emergency Petitions eCourtesy Folder.
Petitions/Motions for Recusal
First, attorneys must e-file the petition for recusal through the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal.
Then, attorneys must submit the petition for recusal along with a proposed order to eCourtesy, selecting the Emergency Petitions eCourtesy Folder.
Requests for a Hearing Scheduled for 30 Minutes or More
First, attorneys must e-file written requests for hearings that are thirty minutes or more through the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal.
Then, attorneys must submit the Request for Hearing for Thirty Minutes or More to eCourtesy, selecting the Special Sets Folder.
Please also review the judge’s website for the judge’s specific instructions regarding requests for hearings that take 30 minutes or more.
Physical File Requests
Attorneys only need to request physical files for hearings that involve court documents filed before April 28, 2014 that are not viewable through Odyssey Public Access. To request a physical file, please fax the request to 305-349-7499 by 9:00 a.m. the day before the hearing or make an in-person request to the Probate Clerk at room 238 of the Miami-Dade County Courthouse at 73 West Flagler Street, Miami, Florida 33130.
Notices of Non-Jury Trial
Submit Notices of Non-Jury Trial to eCourtesy, selecting the Notices for Trial Folder. In the notice, indicate how many days are needed to try the case. After the judge’s review, the judge may send an Order Setting Status Conference. The judicial assistant will serve a Uniform Order Setting Cause for Non-Jury Trial and a Uniform Order of Referral to Mediation to all parties.
Motions to Transfer Case to Another Division
The motion to transfer the case to another Division should be sent to the Clerk’s Office, Probate Division, to the attention of the New Suits and Court Operations Supervisor, Nilda Diaz, Miami-Dade County Courthouse, 73 West Flagler Street, Room 238, Miami, Florida 33l30.
Electronic Access to Imaged Estate and Guardianship Files by the Attorney of Record
Attorneys must register for Odyssey Public Access to view estate and guardianship case files. Registration is available on the Clerk of Courts website under "Online Services". Click here to visit the Clerk of Courts website.
Probate Clerk Procedures
Click here for the Probate Clerk page.
Requests for Transcription of Court-Recorded Hearings
For hearings that took place on or after October 1, 2018:
First, attorneys must e-file a petition to transcribe a recording through the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal. The petition must include the date, time and name of the petition that was the subject of the hearing.
Then, attorneys must submit the petition to transcribe the recording and proposed order to the judge to review and, if appropriate, sign. For guardianship cases, attorneys must submit the petition and proposed order to eCourtesy, selecting the Ex Parte No CM Review Folder. For mental health cases, attorneys must mail or hand-deliver the petition and proposed order to the judge’s chambers.
Once attorneys have received the signed order authorizing the transcription of the recording, they must contact Absolute Digital, Inc., the court’s vendor, to purchase the transcript at:
The attorneys will need to complete a form that is available on the Absolute Digital website and submit a certified copy of the court order authorizing the transcription of the recording with the form.
For hearings that took place before October 1, 2018:
Attorneys must e-file a petition to release and transcribe CD through the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal. The petition must include the date of the hearing and the name, address, and telephone number of the Court Reporting Service designated to receive and transcribe the CD.
For guardianship cases, attorneys must submit the petition to release and transcribe CD along with a proposed order to eCourtesy, selecting the Ex Parte No CM Review Folder. For mental health cases, attorneys must mail or hand-deliver the petition to release and transcribe CD and the proposed order to the judge’s chambers. The petition and order must include the date of the hearing and the name, address, and telephone number of the Court Reporting Service designated to receive and transcribe the CD.
After the Order to Release and Transcribe CD has been signed, the Court Reporting Service must bring the order to either the Probate Clerk’s Office (Room 238) or the Mental Health Clerk’s Office (Room 234) located at the Miami-Dade County Courthouse, 73 West Flagler Street Miami, Florida 33130. The Clerks will provide the CD to the Court Reporting Service to transcribe on the premises.
APS and Guardianship Matters Registry (Wheel)
Information on applying to be placed on the Guardianship Attorney Registry (wheel) can be found here.
Important Guardianship Filing Due Dates
Initial Inventory and Initial Plan
The initial guardianship inventory and the initial guardianship plan are due 60 days from the date the Letters of Guardianship are executed by the judge. § 744.362, Fla. Stat.
Annual Plan
The annual guardianship plan is forward-looking and must be filed by April 1st of the prior year. For example, the 2019 annual guardianship plan is due by April 1, 2018. § 744.367, Fla. Stat.
Annual Accounting
The annual accounting is backwards-looking and must be filed on or before April 1. For example, the 2018 annual accounting is due on April 1, 2019. § 744.367, Fla. Stat.