Fountain County Courts, Indiana Document Filing Requirements

CRITICAL

Applies to

Appearance

Attorneys for defendants and third parties must file a formal written appearance.

All attorneys for a defendant or a third party shall file a formal written appearance.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Initial petition

An initial petition to open an estate or guardianship must include the fiduciary’s social security number, date of birth, and address.

(f) The initial petition to open an estate or guardianship shall contain the social security number, date of birth and address of the fiduciary.

CRITICAL

Applies to

No contact order

An oral authorization for a no-contact order must be reduced to a written order and submitted to the Judge on the next business day of the Court.

which shall be reduced to a written no-contact order and submitted to the Judge on the next business day of the Court.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Jury acceptance

If no peremptory challenge is made, counsel must give the Court a written acceptance of the seated jury on a Court-provided form.

If no such challenge is made, counsel shall give to the Court a written acceptance of the Jury as seated on a form provided by the Court.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Petition for fees

Fee petitions must comply with the Court’s fee guidelines and detail the services performed, requested amount, and fee calculation.

All petitions for fees shall conform to the fee guidelines fixed by the Court, and attached hereto as an appendix, and said petitions shall set forth specifically all services performed in detail as well as the amount of the fee requested and how the same was calculated.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Pleading

If counsel wants a copy forwarded after filing pleadings by mail or leaving them with the Court, counsel must include a self-addressed envelope with sufficient postage.

(a) When pleadings are filed by mail, or left with the Court for filing, and counsel desires a copy forwarded to him, counsel shall include a self-addressed envelope with sufficient postage attached for such purposes.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Order or entry

The attorney responsible for securing an order or entry must provide the Court with a service list, enough copies for each affected party, and addressed envelopes with sufficient postage for service.

(d) The attorney responsible for securing the order or entry shall furnish the Court with a service list, and furnish sufficient copies for service on each affected party, together with envelopes addressed with sufficient postage for such service.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Inventory

If a partial inventory is filed, each subsequent inventory must recapitulate the prior inventories.

(b) In the event a partial inventory is filed, all subsequent inventories must contain a recapitulation of prior inventories.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Court order

The Court’s order must be filed in the Record of Judgments and Orders and a copy sent to the Division of State Court Administration.

The Court’s order shall be filed in the Record of Judgments and Orders of the court and a copy sent to the Division of State Court Administration.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Current report

Current reports filed by the guardian of the person must state the incapacitated person's present whereabouts and general welfare.

Current reports filed by the guardian of the person shall state the present whereabouts of the incapacitated person and his general welfare at that time.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Current account

Each current account for an adult incapacitated person must be filed with a treating physician's statement containing the specified examination, incapacity, and living-arrangement information.

If the incapacitated person is an adult, a statement of a treating physician shall be filed with all current accounts, setting forth the date of the last physical examination and verifying that the incapacity of the person remains unchanged since the date of the establishment of the guardianship or the date of the last current report, and the living arrangements of the incapacitated person.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Accounting

Supervised estate and guardianship accountings must include vouchers or cancelled checks for claimed expenditures.

In all supervised estate and guardianship accountings, vouchers or cancelled checks for the expenditures claimed shall be filed with the accounting.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Fee order

All Orders for fees in estates shall provide that such fees are to be paid only after approval of the final account.

All Orders for fees in estates shall provide that such fees are to be paid only after approval of the final account.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Default judgment

A default judgment for failure to plead requires an affidavit or motion from the moving party.

Default judgments for failure to plead shall not be entered except after affidavit or motion of moving party, and upon 10 days notice to the defendant's counsel.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Petition

After an estate is opened as unsupervised, a petition to treat it as supervised must be filed before the Court will enter orders relating to its administration.

(d) Once an estate is opened as unsupervised, the Court will not enter any orders relating to the administration of the estate, unless a petition is filed requesting that said estate will be treated thenceforth as a supervised estate.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Final account

The specified federal and Indiana tax-closing documents, or qualifying photocopies, must be attached to the final account when it is filed.

The Federal Estate Tax Closing letter and the Indiana Inheritance Tax Closing letter (or counter-signed receipt) or a photocopy thereof showing payment of such taxes, shall be attached to the final account at the time of filing the same.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Motion

The listed motions must be accompanied by a separate supporting brief.

(a) Motions to Dismiss per T.R. 12, for judgment on the pleadings, for more definite statement, to strike, or motions per T.R. 37 shall be accompanied by a separate supporting brief.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Pleading

All pleadings must include the attorney’s name, address, telephone number, and attorney identification number.

(e) All pleadings shall contain the name of the attorney, together with address, telephone number and attorney identification number.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Proposed findings conclusions

When ordered, counsel must prepare and submit proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law at the time set by the Court.

All proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law in cases where ordered shall be prepared and submitted by counsel at a time to be set by the Court.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Jury trial exhibits

Unless the Court orders otherwise, in jury cases the offering party must make copies of exhibits for each juror before trial and make those copies available for opposing counsel to inspect before trial.

Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, in all jury cases, all exhibits to be offered into evidence and to be read by the Jury shall be duplicated by the party offering the same so that each juror shall have a copy to read at the time the same is offered and admitted into evidence. Such copies shall be made prior to trial and counsel shall have the same available for opposing counsel to inspect prior to trial.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Default judgment

For a default judgment based on a written instrument, the original must be produced unless an affidavit states that it is lost or destroyed.

Where the case is founded on a written instrument, such as a note or contract, the original of the instrument must be produced to the Court before a default judgment will be rendered thereon. No copy of such instrument may be used, unless an affidavit is filed that the original is lost or destroyed.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Pleading

A pleading must be signed by at least one attorney of record or it will not be accepted for filing, or will be stricken if the omission is later discovered.

Any pleading not signed by at least one attorney appearing of record as required by T.R .11 shall not be accepted for filing by the Clerk, or if inadvertently accepted for filing, shall, upon discovery of such omission, be stricken from the record.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Notice to interested persons

Immediately upon execution of letters of administration, the personal representative must give interested persons notice of their rights in an unsupervised estate.

(g) In all unsupervised estates immediately upon the execution of letters of administration, the personal representative shall provide a notice to all interested persons of their rights relating to an unsupervised estate as provided by the Indiana Probate Code, and shall file with the Clerk a proof of service of such notice, which notice shall be substantially similar to the one attached in the appendix to these rules.(See Appendix c)

CRITICAL

Applies to

Fee payment

Fiduciary and attorney fees may not be paid without a prior written court order.

No fees for fiduciaries or attorneys shall be paid without prior written order of Court.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Petition for dissolution

A Petition for Dissolution must include the Social Security numbers of the parties and children, if available.

(i) The Petition for Dissolution shall include the social security numbers of the parties, and children (if available).

CRITICAL

Applies to

Deed

Deeds submitted for approval must be signed by the fiduciary and notarized before submission, submitted with the Report of Sale of Real Estate, and copied for submission and filing with the Court at that time.

(c) All deeds submitted to the Court for approval shall be signed by the fiduciary and the signature notarized prior to submission, and all such deeds shall be submitted with the Report of Sale of Real Estate, and copies of such deeds shall be also submitted at said time and filed with the Court.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Petition for sale

For a real-estate sale in a supervised estate or guardianship, a competent person’s written appraisal must be filed with the Petition for Sale unless it was filed with the inventory.

(a) In all supervised estates and guardianships in which real estate is to be sold, a written appraisal prepared by a person competent to appraise real estate shall be filed with the Court with the filing of the Petition for Sale, unless such appraisal was filed with the inventory.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Indiana support guidelines worksheet

Each party in a dissolution involving minor children, including a summary dissolution, must submit the appropriate Indiana Support Guidelines Worksheet to the Court.

(d) In all dissolutions involving minor children, each party shall submit to the Court the appropriate Worksheet provided in the Indiana Support Guidelines. This Rule shall apply to Summary Dissolution of Marriage Decrees.

CRITICAL

Applies to

School guardianship petition

A routine petition filed solely for a school guardianship must be entitled as such.

In the event the petition for guardianship is for the sole purpose of being a so- call “school guardianship” and is routine in its nature, the petition shall be so entitled,

CRITICAL

Applies to

Dissolution decree

Where applicable, counsel must submit proposed Child Support Income Withholding Orders when the Dissolution Decree is entered.

(h) At the time of all Dissolution Decrees, where applicable, counsel shall submit proposed Child Support Income Withholding Orders.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Motion to withdraw appearance

Counsel seeking to withdraw must move for leave, set a withdrawal date, and file evidence of at least 10 days’ written notice to the client; these requirements are waived when new counsel appears simultaneously.

Counsel seeking to withdraw their appearance in any action shall file a motion requesting leave to do so. Such motion shall fix a date for such withdrawal, and thereafter satisfactory evidence of a least 10 days written notice to the client in advance of such date of withdrawal shall be filed with the Court. (e) A withdrawal of appearance accompanied by the simultaneous appearance of new counsel shall constitute a waiver of paragraph (d) above.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Guardianship hearing

An adult-incapacity guardianship hearing must include a report from the treating physician or other evidence required by the Court, and incapacity cannot be determined without supporting evidence.

(b) In all guardianship matters seeking to declare an adult incapacitated for any reason, a Physician's report by the physician treating the alleged incapacitated person or such additional evidence as the Court shall require, shall be presented at the hearing. No determination of incapacity shall be made without a supporting physician's report or evidence.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Affidavit

Default-judgment and non-military affidavits must certify the affiant's familiarity and current amounts due, and generally must be signed by a knowledgeable representative rather than counsel.

Such affidavits, as well as non-military affidavits, shall certify that the affiant is familiar with the defendant and the matter sued upon, and shall certify as to the current amounts due in said matter. Such affidavits shall be signed by representatives familiar with the matter and not by counsel for the movant, unless otherwise permitted by the Court.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Supplemental report

When a Final Order vests real estate in heirs or beneficiaries, the Order must be recorded with the county recorder and evidence of recording provided to the Court with the supplemental report.

(d)Whenever a Final Order reflects that real estate has vested in heirs or beneficiaries, that Order shall be recorded with the County Recorder of the County where such real estate is situate, and evidence of such recording shall be provided to the Court with the supplemental report.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Discovery motion or objection

A motion to compel or discovery objection must reproduce the interrogatory or request in full and state its legal basis; failure to state the basis for not responding waives the objection.

(g) In the event of a motion to compel as to interrogatories or production or objections to such discovery are filed, such motion or objections shall set forth in full the interrogatory or request served, and the legal basis upon which the motion or objection is made. Failure to so state the legal basis for not responding to discovery will constitute a waiver of such objections.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Contempt citation

Before a bench warrant may issue, the judgment plaintiff must file and serve a Contempt Citation, schedule a hearing, and the defendant must then fail to appear or comply with the order.

provided however, the judgment plaintiff must first file a Contempt Citation, schedule a hearing thereon, and have the same served, and such bench warrant will then only issue if such defendant fails to appear or otherwise comply with the Court Order.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Notice

If the Clerk is to serve notice, sufficient notice copies, a praecipe, and a proof-of-notice form must be furnished to the Clerk.

In the event the Clerk is to serve the notice, sufficient copies of the notice, together with a praecipe and a form of proof of notice shall be furnished to the Clerk.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Final account

A Clerk’s certification proving payment must be presented to the Court with the final account.

a certification of the Clerk proving such payment shall be presented to the Court with the final account.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Accounting

Each claimed expense in an accounting must include a notation stating the nature of the expenditure.

In all accountings a notation shall be placed by each claimed expense item indicating the nature of the expenditure, e.g.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Order

The attorney must prepare orders for all proceedings unless the Court expressly directs otherwise.

The attorney is required to prepare orders for all proceedings except when expressly directed otherwise by the Court;

CRITICAL

Applies to

Accounting

Every accounting must contain an itemized statement of assets on hand.

All accountings shall contain an itemized statement of assets on hand.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Order to answer interrogatories

An order to answer interrogatories may be separate or included in the hearing order, but must provide the specified judgment, hearing, and response information.

(b) An Order to answer interrogatories may be either separate or a part of the Order setting the hearing on the motion for proceedings supplemental, and shall notify the garnishee defendant that a judgment has been secured against the judgment defendant, the amount of the judgment, the date the hearing is set on the pending motion for proceedings supplemental, and advising that the garnishee defendant may appear at said hearing or file written answers to the interrogatories at a date prior to said hearing.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Notice of stay

A party receiving a bankruptcy stay order may file a notice with the court, and the notice must include the party's name, the bankruptcy cause number, and the stay's issuance date.

Whenever any party receives an order from a Bankruptcy Court staying proceedings, it shall be sufficient for the party to file a notice of such Order with the Court, which notice shall contain the name of the party, the cause number of the bankruptcy proceeding and the date of the issuance of the stay.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Request for return of file marked copies

Counsel requesting the return of file-marked copies must provide the Clerk with self-addressed, sufficiently postage-paid envelopes.

(b) Counsel filing pleadings by mail, or otherwise, and who request the return of file-marked copies, shall furnish the Clerk with self-addressed envelopes with sufficient postage attached for such return.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Accounting

Individual fiduciaries may not substitute affidavits for vouchers.

No affidavits in lieu of vouchers will be accepted from individual fiduciaries.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Closing statement

A Closing Statement in an unsupervised estate must include the specified certifications and reports.

(f) In all unsupervised estates, the Closing Statement shall include a certification as to Notices, the release of payment of claims, the payment of death taxes and expenses of administration, a report of distribution and accounting, and a report as to any deeds executed by the personal representative and shall be on a form substantially similar to the one attached in the appendix to these rules.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Pleading

Pleadings must identify the filing attorney’s name, address, telephone number, FAX number, and attorney number.

All pleadings shall show the name and address, telephone number, FAX number, and attorney number of the individual attorney or attorney filing the same.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Orders and entries

Counsel must prepare all orders and entries unless the Court orders otherwise; routine or simple ones must be prepared in advance and submitted, while a complicated one that cannot be prepared in advance must be prepared immediately after the order is rendered.

(c) All orders and entries shall be prepared by counsel except as may be ordered by the Court. In those matters involving routine or simple orders or entries, the same shall be prepared in advance and submitted to the Court. In the event the order or entry is complicated and cannot be prepared in advance, it shall be prepared immediately after the rendering of the order.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Jury panel information and preliminary instructions

Copies of the jury panel names and addresses, panel information forms, and the Court’s proposed preliminary instructions must be available in the Court Bailiff’s Office at least 5 days before trial.

Copies of the names and addresses of all jury panels called for trial, together with information forms for said panel, and copies of the Court's proposed preliminary instructions shall be available in the Office of the Court Bailiff at least 5 days prior to trial.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Opening statement

Opening statements must briefly and clearly summarize the evidence counsel intends to offer, and may not present unsworn facts, argue evidence, or discuss law except as needed to explain the case theory to the jury.

Opening statements of counsel shall contain a brief summary of the substance of the evidence intended to be offered with necessary explanations in clear and concise form, and the opening statements shall not be used to impose or convey proof by means of unsworn facts or to argue items of evidence or discuss the law except insofar as it is necessary to give the Jury an understanding of the theory of the case.