RULES OF GENERAL PRACTICE AND ADMINISTRATION--AMENDMENTS--NEW RULES. The Court adopted new rules 2.345 (Electronic Signature of Court Official) and 2.511 (Florida Courts E-filing Portal), as well as amendments to rules 2.514 (Computing and Extending Time), 2.515 (Signature and Certificates of Attorneys and Parties), 2.516 (Service of Pleadings and Documents), 2.520 (Documents), and 2.525 (Electronic Filing). New rule 2.345 pertains to the authentication of signatures of court officials and provides that a "document in the official court file that purports to be signed by a judge or other court official is presumed to be authentic." New rule 2.511 defines Florida's e-filing portal, explains the registration process, sets the general guidelines for access to portal pages, establishes its governance structure, and authorizes the portal authority to make operational decisions. Other significant amendments include replacing " midnight' with 11:59:59 p.m., eastern time' to clarify electronic filing and service deadlines," the inclusion of formatting requirements for documents filed under rule 2.525 or served under rule 2.516, and the requirement that all Florida licensed attorneys file through the e-filing portal.
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PROBATE RULES--AMENDMENT. Florida Probate Rule 5.040 (Notice) was amended to require that "formal notice be served electronically on a lawyer who has appeared in a matter for an interested person in accordance with Florida Rule of General Practice and Judicial Administration 2.516." The deadline to serve an objection on a claimant in rule 5.499(e) (Form and Manner of Objecting to Personal Representative's Proof of Claim) was changed from "within 10 days after the filing of the objection" to "at the time of filing the objection or promptly thereafter." Additionally, Form 5.904 (Forms for Initial and Annual Guardianship Plans) was amended to align with section 744.3675(1)(b)2., Florida Statutes.
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