PREPARING AND SUBMITTING ORDERS - DIVISION 4
ORDER FORMAT: CLOSING AND SIGNATURE should be as follows:
DONE & ORDERED in Okaloosa County, Florida.
(INSERT 8-10 spaces between the above line and
the Copies to below for automated signature line & date)
DO NOT TYPE A SIGNATURE LINE. JUDGES NAME OR TITLE.
Service was provided via eService to the available email addresses on file at the ePortal. In cases where one party is unrepresented (pro se), it is the responsibility of the sole attorney in the case to serve, within five (5) business days this order, upon any pro se party who does not have access to nor is a registered user of the Florida Courts efiling portal.
NOTE: Juvenile Delinquency order do not require the above service paragraph
Copies to:
Attorney Names & email addresses
Pro Se Party Names, email or mailing address
Title of Agencies/Etc, email or mailing addresses (when applicable)
ATTACHMENT NAME and SUBJECT LINE:
Attachment name and subject line of email must include case # style of case and title of
order (title of order can be abbreviated):. SEE EXAMPLES BELOW:
16DR123 Kimmel v Damon Contempt Order
16 DR 456 Jones v Smith FJ/Paternity
17CJ567 Beazley Detention Release Order
BODY OF EMAIL
Must include statement that the order has been approved by opposing counsel;
Date of Hearing
Attach FJ DOM/Paternity Checksheet (when applicable)
APPROVAL AS TO FORM: Before submitting an order to the Court, you must obtain approval as to form from opposing counsel. Body of transmittal email must indicate that opposing counsel has approved as to form.
Note: If unable to obtain approval within 10 days after the hearing date, the attorney directed to submit the order shall request a conference with the Court to resolve objections or failure to respond. To assure timely entry of orders, conferences are required to be held within 10 business days. Attorneys are required to attend in person. (Clients do not attend these conferences).
OPPOSING ORDERS, CASE LAW, ADDITIONAL ARGUMENT
When directed by the court to submit competing, opposing orders, caselaw
and/or additional arguments you will receive an email from our office with
specific instructions. (You may also call or email for this procedure)
ORDERS/JUDGMENTS WITH ATTACHMENTS/EXHIBITS and/or with SIGNATURES
***Effective March 1, 2018***
Due to inability to resolve software and technical difficulties all Exhibits, Attachments and Stipulations must be filed into the court record in advance of submitting orders or judgments to the court for entry.
This method also affords the parties more privacy of details when required to provide a copy of their final judgment (for passports, insurance, employment, name change, licenses, etc).
All orders must be submitted in MS WORD format. In compliance with OCAD 2016-04, we will no longer accept orders/judgments in PDF format. (For best quality and efficient processing file extension .docx is most easily integrated with SmartBench and Eportal software).
ORDERS ON STIPULATIONS:
Stipulations and orders shall be separate documents. Prior to submitting orders, the fully signed stipulation should be filed in the court file, then referenced by title and date of filing in the body of the order granting or adopting the stipulation.
LANGUAGE ADOPTING ATTACHMENTS/EXHIBITS IN ORDER/JUDGMENTS:
Orders/Judgment shall reference each exhibit/attachment by title and date of docketing into the court record. To reference and ratify, use the below language in orders and judgments as set forth below:
The terms of the Marital Settlement Agreement and Shared Parenting Plan entered into on February 13, 2018, and filed into the Court File on February 20, 2018, shall be incorporated into this Judgment and made a part hereof as though attached hereto. The parties are bound by the terms set out therein and are enforceable as a part of this Judgment.
In the paragraph awarding child support, the order should reference the child support guideline worksheet and the date entered into the court file.
Upon prior request and approval for exigent circumstances the Court may make exceptions on a case by case basis.
CHECKING ON STATUS OF ORDERS
Division 4 order turnaround is quick and efficient. There are times that the judge or staff are unavailable, or involved in matters that take priority over processing orders. For this reason we are not permitted to search (or or check status of orders unless the order was submitted more than 10 business days prior to your request.
For orders approved by the Court as an emergency, see EMERGENCY MATTERS website link for specific details.
USEFUL TIPS
Orders for entry into the same court case may be e-submitted in one email;
Submit orders one time only (except upon advance approval or request)
Eserve Email addresses are solely for submitting orders. Do not cc any other recipients when submitting orders. This promotes email replies and communications not appropriate for the Eserve addresses.
SUBMIT ORDERS as follows:
FAMILY LAW & JUVENILE DELINQUENCY: Oka.Div4.Eserve@Flcourts1.gov
PROBATE & GUARDIANSHIP: Oka.Probate.Eserve@FLcourts1.gov