St. Joseph County Superior Court, Indiana Document Filing Requirements

CRITICAL

Applies to

Discovery motion

Discovery may proceed only by written motion attaching the proposed limited discovery sought and obtaining Court approval.

Discovery may be undertaken only upon written motion, with a copy of the proposed limited discovery sought to be attached, and approval by the Court.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Verified child support worksheet

At the hearing in a child-support matter, the parties must file a Verified Child Support Worksheet with the Court.

At the time of the hearing in all matters regarding child support issues, the parties shall file: (1) A Verified Child Support Worksheet with the Court;

CRITICAL

Applies to

Pleadings

Pleadings in paternity proceedings must use the caption required by statute.

Pleadings in paternity proceedings will be captioned as required by statute;

CRITICAL

Applies to

Pleading or motion

Every pleading or motion must have a title that identifies each topic included in it.

All pleadings or motions shall include a title, which shall delineate each topic included in the pleading. For example, where a pleading contains an answer, a motion to dismiss, and a jury request, each topic shall be set forth in the title.

CRITICAL

Applies to

DRCB report

The DRCB must file its original report with the Court.

The DRCB shall file its original report with the Court, which shall distribute copies to counsel or to a party not represented by counsel.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Notice

In civil cases initiated after the Rule’s effective date, the initiating party must provide the Clerk with notice copies when the case begins or additional defendants are added, including copies for each defendant, each Plaintiff, and the Court’s file.

For all civil cases initiated after the effective date of this rule, the party initiating the action must provide to the Clerk of the Court, at the time the case is initiated or at any time additional defendants are added to the case, a sufficient number of copies of the notice for service upon each defendant, as well as a copy to be returned to each Plaintiff and a copy for the Court’s file.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Pleading

Must include

caption, case number

Every pleading shall contain a caption setting forth the name of the Court, the title of the action, and the cause number. Where applicable, the pleading shall also contain a Quest or other CMS file number. If a special judge has been assigned to the case, the pleading should also identify the special judge.

Every pleading shall contain a caption setting forth the name of the Court, the title of the action, and the cause number. Where applicable, the pleading shall also contain a Quest or other CMS file number. If a special judge has been assigned to the case, the pleading should also identify the special judge.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Written documents and oral presentations

Lawyers and judges must refrain from using terms that demonstrate bias or prejudice toward others.

Rule 8.4 of the Indiana Rules of Professional Conduct and Rule 2.3 of the Indiana Code of Judicial Conduct require lawyers and judges to refrain from using terms that demonstrate bias or prejudice toward others.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Response or other pleading

A filed response or other pleading must state that the service requirement was complied with; the document provides an optional sample statement.

A response (or other pleading) filed with the Court must include a statement that you have complied with this requirement. Your statement may be in the following form: “I delivered a copy of this response to (Attorney Name) by United States Mail on this ___ day of ________, 20____.”

CRITICAL

Applies to

Proposed order

A proposed order must include the specified date and judicial-officer signature lines and a completed prepared proof of notice under T.R. 72(D).

The proposed order shall be on white paper, 8 ½” x 11” in size, and each page shall be numbered. The last page of the proposed order shall contain a line for the date, either “Dated _____” or “Signed on the date filemarked hereon.” On the last page there also shall be a line for the signature of the Judicial Officer under which shall be typed “Judge or Magistrate, St. Joseph [Circuit or Superior or Probate] Court.” To allow compliance with the notice requirements of Rule 72(D), Indiana Rules of Trial Procedure, the lower four (4) inches of the last page of the proposed order shall be left blank. The proposed order shall also include a prepared proof of notice under T.R. 72(D), and in preparing such a notice the filing party shall complete all portions of the prepared proof of notice.

CRITICAL

An attorney may withdraw only after filing a Motion to Withdraw and setting a hearing at least 14 days after filing, unless the party authorizes withdrawal in open court or in writing or other counsel appears.

Unless authorized by the party in open Court or in writing or upon the appearance of other counsel, an attorney will be permitted to withdraw their appearance for a party only after filing a Motion to Withdraw and setting the matter for hearing not fewer than 14 days from the date of filing.

CRITICAL

Case type designations must comply with Ind. Admin. Rules 8(B)(3).

Case type designations must conform to the requirements of Ind. Admin. Rules 8(B)(3).

CRITICAL

Applies to

Motion

Must include

proposed order

Every motion must include an appropriate proposed order for the Court’s consideration and use.

All motions must be accompanied by an appropriate order for the Court’s consideration and use.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Verified pleading or document

For a verified pleading or document requiring a person’s signature, the QUEST imprint of the person’s name satisfies the signature requirement.

Where a person’s signature is required on a verified pleading or document, the QUEST imprint of the name will satisfy the requirement;

CRITICAL

Applies to

Initial petition or affidavit

A nonresident personal representative or guardian must either appear before the Court on the initial petition or submit an affidavit describing their education, employment, and lack of felony convictions.

Nonresident personal representatives and guardians shall either appear before the Court on initial petition or else submit an affidavit describing their education, employment, and lack of felony convictions.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Mortgage foreclosure action

Plaintiffs filing new mortgage foreclosure actions must provide the Clerk an additional stamped, addressed envelope for each individual defendant and a service list containing each defendant’s name, address, and, if available, telephone number.

Plaintiffs filing new mortgage foreclosure (MF) actions in the St. Joseph Circuit Court, or the St. Joseph Superior Court will be required to provide to the Clerk of the Court: • One (1) additional stamped, addressed envelope, with no return address information, for each individual (but not including any corporation or entity) named as a defendant, AND • A service list, including the name, address, and, if available, the telephone number of each defendant.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Agreed commitments

If more than a year has passed since completing the website work, parents must redo it, prepare Agreed Commitments, and bring them to all hearings.

If more than a year has passed since the parents’ completion of the website work, they shall redo the work, merge their Commitments into a set of Agreed Commitments, and bring those Agreed Commitments to all hearings.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Guardianship petition

A petition to open a guardianship must state the approximate value and describe the protected person’s or minor’s property.

All petitions to open a guardianship shall provide an approximate value and description of the property of the incapacitated person or minor.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Interrogatory response

If an answer needs more space, the responder must attach supplemental pages incorporated by reference.

If additional space is required for an answer, the responder shall attach supplemental pages, incorporated by reference, to comply with the spirit of T.R. 33.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Motion

A discovery-dispute motion must state the date, time, and place of the personal consultations and identify the participants.

As a part of such motion, the party shall recite the date, time, and place of the personal consultations and the names of the participants.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Pre indictment challenge

Pre-indictment challenges to grand jury subpoenas or proceedings must be written, filed with the Clerk, and state the listed pertinent facts.

All pre-indictment challenges to grand jury subpoenas or grand jury proceedings shall be made in writing and filed with the clerk and shall recite all pertinent facts including the grand jury number, the date of service of the subpoena, the appearance or production date of the subpoena, and the law.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Order of assignment

An ORDER OF ASSIGNMENT must be entered into the original physical CCS, docket sheet, or electronic record.

The ORDER OF ASSIGNMENT will be entered into the original physical chronological case summary (CCS) or docket sheet or electronic record.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Caption

Paternity-case captions must also identify all adult parties, including the listed types of parties.

and shall also include all adult parties such as parents, alleged parents, de facto custodians, guardians, intervenors, etc.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Website work completion page

Parents shall submit a copy of “The Conclusion Page” (which appears as the final page of the website work) to the DRCB for filing with the Court to verify completion of the website work. Parents may also file a copy directly with the Clerk of the Court.

Parents shall submit a copy of “The Conclusion Page” (which appears as the final page of the website work) to the DRCB for filing with the Court to verify completion of the website work. Parents may also file a copy directly with the Clerk of the Court.

CRITICAL

All filings must follow Admin. Rule 8's uniform court and case number designation requirements and contain the proper court and case designation.

All filings shall conform to the requirements for uniform court and case number designation set by Admin. Rule 8. In addition, all filings shall contain the proper court and case designation as described below.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Notice

A notice must comply with all statutory requirements.

In all respects, the notice shall comply with all statutory requirements.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Motion or other appropriate notice

Counsel or an unrepresented party must notify the assigned judge in writing, by motion or other appropriate notice, of an approaching or passed deadline.

It shall be the responsibility of counsel or the unrepresented party to advise the assigned Judge, in writing, by motion or other appropriate notice of the approaching or passed deadline

CRITICAL

Applies to

Initial petition or confidential information sheet

Estate-opening petitions or confidential information sheets must provide specified personal-representative information, and guardianship petitions must provide the same information for the proposed guardian; an entity fiduciary need not provide a birth date.

In addition to other relevant information, the initial petition or the confidential information sheet to open an estate shall include the name, address, social security number, birth date, and telephone number of the personal representative. The initial petition to open a guardianship shall include all of the same information of the proposed guardian. If the fiduciary is an entity as opposed to an individual, a birth date is not required. Confidential data may be submitted in a manner consistent with Access to Court Records Rule 5.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Special instruction request

Requests for special instructions must include citations to supporting authorities.

Requests for special instructions shall contain citations to supporting authorities.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Notice

A party or attorney who gives notice that the issues are closed must file a copy of the notice with the Clerk.

and file a copy of the notice with the Clerk of the Court.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Pretrial notice

A party offering biologically contaminated evidence must file a pretrial notice with the trial court and serve all parties before trial.

A party who offers biologically contaminated evidence must file a pretrial notice with the trial court and serve all the parties so that the Court can consider the issue and rule appropriately before trial.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Continuance request

A continuance request must be filed as a pleading or motion and indicate whether all other parties have been contacted.

Parties requesting a continuance shall submit a Pleading or Motion to the Court and shall indicate whether they have contacted all other parties and shall indicate in the pleading or Motion the agreement or opposition to the request for a continuance.

CRITICAL

Before a hearing or trial begins, the parties must certify to the Court that they met and discussed resolution as required.

Prior to the commencement of any hearing or trial, the parties shall certify to the Court that they have complied with this requirement.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Proposed order

Must include

caption, case number

A proposed order must contain a caption showing the court name, assigned case number, and case title as shown by the complaint.

Any proposed order shall be a document that is separate and apart from the motion or application to which it relates and shall contain a caption showing the name of the court, the case number assigned to the case, and the title of the case as shown by the complaint pursuant to Rule LR71-AR8-201.

CRITICAL

Applies to

DRCB report

Where appropriate, the DRCB report must be filed with the Court before the case may be considered ready for trial or tried.

No case shall be considered ready for trial, or be tried, unless the report of the DRCB (where appropriate) has been filed with the Court.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Pleading or document

A self-represented litigant must file a signed paper copy with the clerk unless able to sign the document electronically at the clerk’s office.

A pro se litigant is required to file a signed paper copy with the clerk unless he is able to sign the pleading or document electronically at the clerk’s office.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Petition for appointment of guardian of minor

A petition to appoint a guardian of a minor’s person must include the child’s address, two-year residence and caregiver history, general school and health information, and known pending custody litigation.

In every petition for the appointment of a guardian of the person of a minor child, the following information shall be given: a. The child’s present address; b. The places where the child has lived within the past two (2) years and the names and present addresses of the persons with whom the child has lived during that period; c. General information concerning school, health, etc.…; d. Whether, to the petitioner’s knowledge, any other litigation is pending concerning the custody of the child in this or in any other state;

CRITICAL

Applies to

Pre indictment filing

Pre-indictment motions, orders, and other filings relating to a grand jury must bear that grand jury's docket number.

All pre-indictment motions, orders, and other filings pertaining to matters before that grand jury shall bear that particular docket number

CRITICAL

Applies to

Caption

Captions in family cases involving children must not use “versus.”

and “versus” shall not be used in the captions of any family cases involving children.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Motion to withdraw

If withdrawal will leave the client unrepresented, the Motion to Withdraw must include the client’s address and, if known, telephone number for service or notice.

In cases where the withdrawal of appearance shall leave the client unrepresented, the Motion to Withdraw must contain the address and, if known, telephone number of the client where service of documents can be delivered, or other notice can be provided.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Caption

Paternity-case captions must use the stated “In Re the Matter of the Paternity” form.

Captions in paternity cases will be in the form of “In Re the Matter of the Paternity of ____________, a Child Born Out of Wedlock,”

CRITICAL

Applies to

Default judgment affidavit

The moving party must file an affidavit stating the opposing party’s military-service, age, competency, and institutionalization status when filing a default-judgment motion or at the scheduled default-judgment hearing.

At the time of filing of a motion for default judgment or at the time of a hearing scheduled for entry of a default judgment, the moving party shall file an affidavit indicating that the party or parties against whom default is sought is not a member of the military service, is neither a minor nor incompetent, and is not institutionalized.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Petition to close estate

A petition to close an estate must affirm that applicable income and other taxes have been paid or will be paid in full.

Further, the petition to close the estate shall include an affirmation that such income and other taxes as may be applicable to the estate either have been paid in full or that they will be paid in full.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Child support supporting documentation

At the hearing in a child-support matter, the parties must file any supporting documentation the Court requires to establish the specified income, childcare, and healthcare information.

At the time of the hearing in all matters regarding child support issues, the parties shall file: (2) Such supporting documentation as the Court may require to establish current income and income earned during the prior tax year, work-related childcare expenses, if any, and the children’s portion of health care expense.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Attorney fee affidavit

A party seeking attorney’s fees with a default judgment must submit an attorney-executed affidavit documenting the basis and reasonable amount of the fees, unless sworn testimony is offered in its place.

At the time of filing of a motion for default judgment or at the time of a hearing scheduled for entry of a default judgment, a moving party who is requesting an allowance of attorney’s fees shall file an affidavit executed by the attorney requesting the fee. The affidavit shall be in a form and substance to enable the Court to determine if attorney’s fees are appropriate, and if so the reasonable amount of fees. The affidavit shall set forth the authority for the Court to award attorney’s fees (i.e., statute, contract, etc.) and the basis upon which the proposed fees were computed (i.e., the hourly rate, the number of hours employed or anticipated to be employed in obtaining and enforcing a judgment herein). In the absence of an affidavit or sworn testimony in lieu thereof, no attorney’s fees shall be allowed.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Closing letter

Before the Court hears a motion to approve a final account, federal and state inheritance or estate taxes must be paid and the estate must receive closing letters from the appropriate taxing authorities; the quoted requirement continues beyond this excerpt.

Before the Court will hear a motion to approve a final account, all Federal and State inheritance or estate taxes must be paid and the estate must have received a closing letter from each appropriate taxing authority acknowledging such payment and releasing the estate from further

CRITICAL

Applies to

Appearance

Attorneys must enter an appearance before filing pleadings and include their name, address, telephone number, and registration number in the appearance form.

Prior to filing any pleadings in a matter before the Court, all attorneys shall enter an appearance in the given action and shall include in their appearance form the attorney’s name, address, telephone number, and registration number to be retained within the electronic case management system.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Verified motion for proceedings supplemental

A Verified Motion for Proceedings Supplemental under T.R. 69 must include the Appendix D NOTICE OF DEBTOR RIGHTS on the order page or a separate page, conspicuously stating the defendant’s right to appear before a judge.

All parties filing a Verified Motion for Proceedings Supplemental under T.R. 69 shall include either on the order page, or on a separate page a NOTICE OF DEBTOR RIGHTS as depicted in Appendix D, with conspicuous language as to a defendant’s right to appear before a judge.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Facts supporting disqualification exemption or deferral

Facts supporting a request for jury-service disqualification, exemption, or deferral must be submitted to the Court in writing under oath or affirmation.

Facts supporting disqualification, exemption, or deferral from jury service shall be provided to the Court, in writing, under oath or affirmation.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Related case list

The parties must provide the DRCB with a list of all related cases within a reasonable time after assignment to Family Court jurisdiction.

The parties, within a reasonable time after a case is assigned to Family Court jurisdiction, shall provide to the DRCB a list of all Related Cases.