VIRTUAL/TELEPHONIC APPEARANCES:

1. Any hearings scheduled for thirty (30) minutes or less and are non-evidentiary shall occur by Zoom, with the exception of pro se Case Management Conferences (CMCs) which are held in person.  CMCs on cases with one or more attorneys involve will occur by Zoom.
2. Any hearings that are evidentiary in nature  or are scheduled for more than thirty (30) minutes shall be conducted in person.  Evidentiary hearings scheduled by Zoom without court permission may be cancelled by the court.  
3. Evidentiary hearings must be scheduled for sixty (60) minutes and all parties shall appear in person.  
4. The court may consider conducting hearings longer than 30 minutes or evidentiary hearings 30 minutes or less by Zoom on agreement of the parties, written motion filed, AND good cause shown.  The parties should plan to appear in person for these types of hearings if the court does not enter an order allowing Zoom attendance.  All trials must be conducted in person.

Family Law Division C uses the Zoom videoconference platform. You do not need an account to use Zoom and the service is free.  

Zoom Information for Division C – Judge DePaul 
Zoom Link:  https://zoom.us/j/3867785704 
Zoom Phone:  301-715-8592 
Meeting ID:  386-7785704 

Ways to appear for virtual hearings by Zoom: 

1. Electronic device such as a cellphone, tablet, or computer    
2. By telephone (not recommended)
3. Zoom computers at the courthouse for hearing attendance.  Once you reach the 4th floor of the courthouse, notify the bailiffs that you need to use a computer for Zoom hearing attendance. 

Please note, if a Party appears by phone instead of ZOOM, the hearing may be rescheduled to another date so that the Party can appear by video or in person at the courthouse.  Please contact the Judicial Assistant, Patty Coone, by phone at (813) 272-5777, or by email famlawdivc@fljud13.org  if you have any additional questions.  

Tips for virtual hearings:  

1. Please make sure to activate the video and audio settings so you can see, hear and speak during the hearing.   
2. Please be sure your screen name is your actual name. 
3. Mute your microphone unless you are speaking. 
4. Make sure you have appropriate lighting and can be seen on camera.  
5. Please WAIT PATIENTLY until your hearing is called. 
6. Do not type, eat, drink, or smoke during your hearing. 
7. Try not to speak when others are speaking. The court will not be able to hear when two people speak at the same time.

The judicial assistant CANNOT answer ANY legal questions, and will not explain your situation to the Judge.  Your opportunity to speak to the Judge happens in Court only.  

All motions will need to be typed (no handwritten motions) with opposing parties contact information included and filed with the Clerk of Court before asking for a hearing date.   Parties on the case will need to be served with the filed motion or documents. 

IF FILING AN EMERGENCY MOTION: 
No party or attorney should file an emergency motion without first studying Smith v. Crider, 31 F.L.W. D1018 (2d DCA April 7, 2006).

 
All emergency motions need to be filed with the Clerk of Court. 

Located: Edgecomb Courthouse 
800 East Twiggs Street 
1st Floor 
Tampa, FL 33602. 

DO NOT deliver a copy of emergency motions to the judge.  The Clerk of Court will be responsible for forwarding the motion to the judge.  Once the Judge has reviewed the court file and the Emergency Motion, the Judge will prepare and enter an Emergency Handling Order and copies will be distributed electronically by JAWS.  If a party is unrepresented, then a copy of the Judge’s ruling on the Emergency Motion will be mailed.  If a hearing is required, the Judicial Assistant will coordinate by e-mail hearing dates/times with the parties. When possible, all parties email addresses should be included for service of any hearing notice or order.  

The judicial assistant CANNOT answer ANY legal questions, and will not explain your situation to the Judge.  Your opportunity to speak to the Judge happens in Court only.

The preferred form of communication for voicing any concerns or setting and canceling hearings is by e-mail at FAMLAWDIVC@fljud13.org.  Phone calls are accepted, although response times may be longer than for e-mail requests. The following should be included in the email: case number, case name, what you are asking to be set, and how long you will need for the hearing. 

Case Management Conference (CMC) 

• All parties and attorneys are required to attend the First CMC. Attendance at later CMC’s is recommended but not required if there is good cause for the absence.  

• If the case is settled prior to the First CMC then hearing time may be used as a final hearing provided proper notice of hearing has been filed. If you intend to use the 1st CMC as a final hearing then a copy of the petitioner’s driver’s license must be uploaded to the court file prior to the date of the hearing.  

• Parties may schedule a case management conference in JAWS on the open docket or as a 15 minute motion. 

• All attorney CMCs will take place by Zoom until further notice.  

• All pro se CMCs will be held in person in courtroom 403.   

• Parties requiring interpreters must provide their own interpreter. The court does not provide interpreters for family law hearings. 

• The court will cancel first CMCs set in post-judgment matters and refer the case to the general magistrate if no order of referral has been submitted or objection filed. 

Continuance (CMC only) 

• First CMC: 
  • The First CMC cannot be cancelled or rescheduled.   
  • All parties and counsel MUST appear for the first CMC 
• Reset CMC:
  • The parties must agree to a continuance of a reset CMC. 
  • Contact JA by email, copying all parties, to request continuance of a CMC Reset 
  • Any agreed proposed order of continuance should include the CMC rescheduled hearing date and time. 
  • All parties or attorneys must have an email address on file with the court for service of the order. If a party does not have an email address on file the proposed order must be submitted in hard copy to the court with conforming copies and stamped envelopes.   

Temporary Relief Hearings 

1. Mediation is required prior to attending a temporary relief hearing on matters involving children. (Administrative Order S-2024-019).  Mediation is recommended before attending hearings on all other temporary relief matters.   
   • To meet this requirement, mediation must be conducted after the motion for temporary relief is filed or if the temporary relief is requested in the underlying petition.   
2. Mediator’s Report must be filed with the Court at least 5 business days prior to the hearing date or the hearing will be cancelled. 
3. If the opposing (or non-moving) party fails to cooperate in attending mediation, the issue shall be addressed by the Judge at the temporary relief hearing where possible sanctions could be imposed. 
4. Temporary Relief hearings can only be scheduled for 60 minutes. The court will entertain requests for more than 60 minutes by e-mail explaining why you require more time and whether the opposing party/attorney agrees to the additional time. The court will not allow more than 2 hours total for a temporary relief hearing.  
5. Parties shall comply with all requirements for temporary relief hearings as outlines in Administrative Order S-2025-013(16)
6. All exhibits, together with an exhibit list, to be used at the hearing must be uploaded to the Florida E-Filing Portal Exhibits area (located where Orders are uploaded) no later than two (2) business days prior to the scheduled hearing. 
   Helpful tips for Exhibit Portal Upload: 
   • You must add a unique description (i.e. Petitioner’s Exhibit 1, Respondent’s Exhibit 1, Joint Agreed Exhibit 1, etc) to each exhibit uploaded.  The file name of the uploaded exhibit does not appear in the exhibit portal. 
   • The exhibits should have a cover page and be pre-marked with a label in the form indicated on this link (Exhibit Label). 
   • Complete as much information as you can on the label.  

The judge does require a hard copy of the exhibits, however, the parties must bring hard copies for use on the witness stand on the day of the hearing. 

7. A copy of any document provided to the Court shall also be provided to all other Parties. 
8. All Temporary Relief Hearings shall take place in person. 

Post-Judgment Hearings 

1. All post judgment matters must have an Order of Referral to the General Magistrate submitted at the same time the petition or motion is filed. 
2. All post judgment matters MUST be mediated prior to the scheduling of any hearings. 
3. You must schedule post judgment hearings via JAWS.  

Scheduling Hearings: 

1. Effective 4/15/25, any motions 30  minutes or less that are non-evidentiary shall occur by Zoom, with the exception of pro se CMCs.  Any hearings that exceed fifteen (15) minutes or that are evidentiary in nature shall be conducted in person unless allowed by the court.  (see virtual/telephonic appearances above for more information) 
2. Any matter requiring 60 minutes or less of hearing time is to be scheduled through JAWS. Pro se litigants (a party who is not represented by an attorney) should email the Judicial Assistant for available hearing times. Be sure to state in the email that you are representing yourself, and include your case number. All parties must be copied on the email.  
3. Available hearing types are as follows: 
   • Motion Hearing – 15 min, 30 and 60 min 
   • Open Docket (5-7 minutes, non-evidentiary hearings, uncontested final hearings) 
   • Pre-Trial 
   • Adoptions - Uncontested TPR 
   • Adoptions 
4. In the event that Open Docket hearing times are not readily available, please email the Judicial Assistant with your request for a 5 minute open docket hearing and the basis for the request.  
5. Any matters requiring more than 60 minutes of hearing time are to be scheduled through the Judicial Assistant. You may contact the Judicial Assistant via email at famlawdivc@fljud13.org to obtain available hearing times.  
6. If a Party encounters any issues in obtaining hearing times, please set a Case Management Conference (CMC) on the Open Docket so that the Court may address same. Please include in the Notice of CMC Hearing that the nature of the CMC is to discuss obtaining hearing time.  
7. PLEASE COPY ALL ATTORNEYS ON THE CASE ON ALL CORRESPONDENCE SENT TO THE JUDICIAL ASSISTANT . If a Party is not represented by counsel, please copy the unrepresented party on all correspondence sent to the Judicial Assistant. 
8. After obtaining a hearing time either through JAWS or the Judicial Assistant, a Notice of Hearing is to be e-filed. The Notice of Hearing MUST state whether the case will be heard in person or by Zoom. 
9. If you schedule an uncontested final hearing on the open docket or motion docket 15 minutes, then a copy of the petitioner’s driver’s license must be uploaded to the court file prior to the date of the hearing.  

Cancel a Hearing 

• Hearings set by court order must be cancelled by court order.   
• Hearings set by parties and counsel may be cancelled by agreement of all parties. 
• A Notice of Cancellation must be filed with the clerk 
• Email a copy of the Notice of Cancellation to JA at FamLawDivC@fljud13.org 
• If more than 24 hours to hearing time, please cancel hearing via JAWS. If less than 24 hours, then request the JA to cancel when you send her the Notice. 

Exhibits: 

1. Electronic copies of exhibits are preferred, although the court will accept exhibits in hard copy. 
2. Parties are NOT to provide hard copies of exhibits to the court in advance of the scheduled hearing.  Electronic exhibits shall be uploaded through the e-filing portal at least 48 hours prior to the hearing in ensure they are received by the court.    
3. Helpful tips for Exhibit Portal Upload: 
   • Each exhibit must be filed as a separate PDF document with a cover page (see c. below) 
   • You must add a unique description (i.e. Petitioner’s Exhibit 1, Respondent’s Exhibit 1, Joint Agreed Exhibit 1, etc) to each exhibit uploaded.  The file name of the uploaded exhibit does not appear in the exhibit portal .  The description is to be added in the text box in the e-filing portal beneath the box to browse for the file to be uploaded  
   • The exhibits should have a cover page or be pre-marked with a label in the form indicated on this link (Exhibit Label). 
   • If using a label instead of the cover sheet, complete as much information as you can on the label (ie, fill in the exhibit number, date of hearing, case number, etc).  

Case Law: 

Please provide case law and any legal authority to the Court via email no later than three (3) business days prior to a scheduled hearing and state in the email the date and time of the hearing.  Failure to so do may result in a delay in receiving a ruling on the case while the court reviews the late filed case law and possible sanctions.

All Pre Trial Conferences (PTC) and Trials will be held in person in Courtroom 403.  Additionally, the PTC will be scheduled for 30 minutes and the parties in Dissolution of Marriage cases are required to upload an agreed Equitable Distribution chart prior to the PTC. (Equitable Distribution Worksheet)  In cases involving children, the parties are required to upload a Certificate of Completion of the Parenting Course and a Proposed Parenting Plan prior to the PTC.  Failure to file these required documents may result in cancellation of the PTC and Trial.

All cases ready for trial must be set for Case Management Conference.  The parties can schedule this on JAWS.  At this Case Management Conference, the Court will enter an order allowing the parties to set pre-trial conference and trial date with the Judicial Assistant.  The parties shall send an email to the Judicial Assistant with a copy of the order attached requesting trial and pre-trial dates.  The email shall also include the amount of time needed for the trial.  Once all parties agree to a trial date, the Uniform Order Setting Trial and Pre-Trial shall be uploaded within three days. 

NOTE: A Pre-Trial Memorandum SHALL be electronically filed and served on each party by the other party, as well as a copy of both emailed to the Judge, at least three (3) business days prior to the Pre-Trial Conference. The parties should be prepared to discuss provisions set forth in the Pre-Trial Memorandums and Pre-Trial Conference Order.

• Each exhibit, together with an exhibit list  (Exhibit List), to be used at the hearing must be uploaded to the Florida E-Filing Portal Exhibit area (located where Orders are uploaded) no later than two (2) business days prior to the scheduled hearing.   Each exhibit must be uploaded separately as an individual PDF file.  The court does not have the capability to separate exhibits that are all included in one file to mark them as evidence. 

Helpful tips for Exhibit Portal Upload:

• Each exhibit must be filed as a separate PDF document with a cover page (see c. below)
• You must add a unique description (i.e. Petitioner’s Exhibit 1, Respondent’s Exhibit 1, Joint Agreed Exhibit 1, etc) to each exhibit uploaded.  The file name of the uploaded exhibit does not appear in the exhibit portal.  The description is to be added in the text box in the e-filing portal beneath the box to browse for the file to be uploaded
• The exhibits should have a cover page or be pre-marked with a label in the form indicated on this link (Exhibit Label).
• If using a label instead of the cover sheet, complete as much information as you can on the label (ie, fill in the exhibit number, date of hearing, case number, etc).   

The judge does not require a hard copy of the exhibits if exhibits are uploaded through the e-filing portal, however, the parties must bring hard copies for use on the witness stand on the day of the hearing.
 

• A copy of any document provided to the Court shall also be provided to all other Parties.

• Attorneys:  Proposed orders shall be submitted through the Florida e-filing portal along with a Cover Letter, both in .pdf format.  Please do not also send a hard copy or email to the Court.  The Cover Letter MUST include whether or not the proposed order is agreed upon by all Parties and should be copied to opposing party or his/her attorney.   If a party objects to a proposed order, the objecting party must submit his/her own order to the JA via email within 5 days with a cover letter saying that it is a competing order and opposing counsel or other party must be copied on the cover letter.  The cover letter should state the objections to the proposed order.
   
• Unrepresented Parties:  In the majority of cases, the court will prepare orders to be entered.  If the parties are required to prepare an order they may be uploaded through the Florida e-filing portal or provided to the judge in hard copy, with copies and addressed and stamped envelopes for all parties to the case and one extra for the clerk’s file.
• Proposed orders should include the name and docket number of the underlying motion and the date of the hearing (if a hearing was held) in the first paragraph. 
• THE COURT WILL NOT SIGN ORDERS THAT HAVE THE JUDGE’S SIGNATURE LINE ON A SEPARATE PAGE FROM THE REST OF THE ORDER PURSUANT TO ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER.
• Incoming Withholding Orders can now be uploaded into E-portal. If one of the parties, represents themselves, the Order MUST be submitted via hard copy with copies of the Order and self-addressed envelopes for all parties. 

A Final Disposition Form must be submitted at the time of submission of a proposed Final Order or Final Judgment in order to close the case in Family Law Division “C”.

Parties without attorney representation are required to file a Designation of Email Address.  By filing this form you will receive copies of all pleadings by email NOT regular U.S. Mail.  A link to a copy of the form is available here:

The completed form should be mailed to:  Clerk of the Circuit Court, ATTN:  Family Law Division, 800 E. Twiggs Street, Tampa, FL  33602