Wayne County Probate Court Issues Local Court Rule Requiring Attorneys to File via Email
Dec. 17, 2020
I have remained actively handling cases in the Michigan probate courts throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Unlike the county circuit courts, the probate courts did not have electronic filing in place and still do not. Despite that, each probate court I have dealt with has worked hard and moved veritable mountains to keep the courts working and keep serving the needs of families who have need of probate court services.
Wayne County Probate Court recently proposed adding local rule 5.101 that would require all attorneys filing in that court to use email to file with the court, and the MI Supreme Court has approved it. So, effective December 16, 2020, and continuing until such time as the Wayne County Probate Court returns to full, regular operations in accordance with the orders of the MI Supreme Court, this local rule (link below) applies. I think it is a great idea. I know there are other courts struggling with multi-week mail processing delays and I hope they’ll consider implementing something similar!
(I also hope that this is a step toward allowing attorneys to utilize e-mail or other electronic filing moving forward indefinitely.)
A link to the rule: www.wcpc.us/Info/localcourtrulefiling.htm