On occasion, a client calls me and informs me that he or she is faced with a pressing probate emergency in one of our cases. This is particularly difficult because as a general rule, in probate, we have one and only one means of getting in front of a judge in rapid fashion. We have the possibility of filing a request called an Ex Parte emergency hearing, and the court on a permissive level, may allow you to appear the next day or immediately thereafter, depending on your level of emergency.
There are two problems with these kinds of emergency hearings.
The first problem is that you must walk in the door on top of whatever the court already has calendared for that day. This means that sometimes a judge will deny your emergency request simply based on his or her own schedule. For that reason, your paperwork must be absolutely surgical and concise. I do not allow one extra word beyond necessity on an Ex Parte pleading.
The second problem is that the courts definition of emergency is often much more stringent and severe than a clients definition of emergency.
On a recent Ex Party hearing that we filed and won, my client had a financial emergency based on severe domestic violence. The judge was extremely accommodating and very generous about her ruling.
If you feel that you have a situation that could be considered a probate emergency in an upcoming case that requires immediate, emergency attention from the court, our law firm is very experienced in these kinds of court room proceedings. Please call us and we will assist you in any way possible.