There is a chill in the morning air which means summer must be nearing an end. Where does the time go? It’s hard to believe that I joined this group almost a year ago. It has been a pleasure to work on new projects and to get to know all of you during the process.
LEGISLATIVE CHANGES
I would like to share some information that may affect you while doing business with the Clerk’s Office as a result of legislative changes that took effect in July.
- TEDRA FILINGS: Historically, our office has allowed TEDRA’s to be filed in an existing case, with payment of the required filing fee. The new legislation now requires all TEDRA proceedings to be commenced as a new action. If our office receives the documents with an existing case number and absent the required Case Information Cover Sheet, they will not be filed and will be returned to the submitting party.
- STALKING PROTECTION ORDERS: There is now a new cause of action for Stalking Protection Orders. These actions are intended to address stranger-to-stranger stalking. If both parties are adults, the matter will be handled in District Court. If the Respondent is under 18, the matter will be addressed at the Family & Juvenile Court. The initial requests (temporary orders) will take place on the domestic violence calendars held daily at 1:30, and the permanent order hearings will be held on the Anti-Harassment calendar held on Wednesdays at 2:30. State pattern forms are available at www.courts.wa.gov.
E-FILING REMINDERS
The following are some common errors we find with e-filings that result in a lot of staff time and/or the rejection of your documents:
- For confidential documents, please remember that you must first file the document, with the confidential coversheet as the first page. You must then ALSO file the coversheet separately as a second e-filing.
- It is important that the top, right corner of the first page of each document remain blank. This is where the automated time stamp is placed upon e-filing. If your document has writing in this area, use a coversheet for the first page.
Just as a general reminder, please note that the Family Law Notice of Issue was updated on June 27, 2013. Please delete any previous versions that you may have as they are no longer accurate and have caused some scheduling issues.
As always, I welcome suggestions for topics that you would like me to address in an upcoming issue. Until next time…
THURSTON COUNTY CLERK’S OFFICE
Yvonne L. Pettus
YVONNE L. PETTUS
Chief Deputy Clerk