Seals of the Court of Appeals and Superior Court
District of Columbia Courts
VISIT US | CAREERS

Fees - What is the hourly rate for payment from the Guardianship Fund?

Hourly Rate as of October 1, 2023, from the Guardianship Fund: 1) Attorneys serving as a guardian, conservator, special conservator, guardian ad litem or visitors. $110 (Administrative Order 23-01) 2) Participants in the Non-Lawyer Pilot Program serving as a guardian. $80 3) Medical doctors appointed by Superior Court to serve as an examiner and make a capacity assessment. $120 (Administrative Order 23-19) 4) All other licensed health care professionals serving as an examiner.

Can I serve discovery electronically?

Yes. You may serve discovery documents electronically on counsel through the system. Pursuant to Rule Promulgation Order 07-04, effective September 4, 2007, Certificates Regarding Discovery need not be filed when discovery is served. Instead, a Certificate Regarding Discovery that has occurred in the case must be filed as an attachment with any of the following three filings: (1) a motion regarding discovery; (2) an opposition to a dispositive motion based on the need for discovery; and (3) a motion to extend Scheduling Order dates. SCR Civil 5(d).

I cannot afford to pay eFiling fees and court fees, but I want to participate in eFiling. What should I do?

Present a completed Application to Proceed without Prepayment of Costs, Fees, or Security (In Forma Pauperis) and the pleading you wish to eFile to the Legal Branch of the Office of the Register of Wills located at Court Building A, 515 5th Street, NW, 3rd Floor, Washington, DC 20001. If they are acceptable for filing, you will be referred to the office of Judge-In-Chambers, 4th Floor, Moultrie Courthouse, at 500 Indiana Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20001, for a decision on the merits.

When a document is filed in paper (either in person or by mail), will the Probate Division keep a hard copy of the document in the case file?

The Office of the Register of Wills will maintain in the case file wills, codicils, bonds, sealed documents and documents requested to be placed under seal. All other documents filed in paper will be returned to the filer—starting on October 25, 2013—after the filing is docketed and imaged into the court’s case management system.

The filer must maintain the original document while the case is pending and until any appeals or appeal time periods are exhausted and must be prepared to show the original document to the parties or the court upon demand.

How will exhibits admitted into evidence in the courtroom by a Probate Division judge be maintained?

If an exhibit can be viewed comprehensively in an electronic format, it will be scanned into the court’s case management system and then returned to the presenting party to maintain while the case is pending and until any appeals or appeal time periods are exhausted.

If the exhibit cannot be scanned, such as x-ray film or blueprints, it will be maintained by the court while the case is pending and until any appeals or appeal time periods are exhausted.

I received a court order authorizing the deposit of funds into the Estates Deposit Account. Can I eFile the deposit?

No. The eFiling system can't process this type of transaction. Submit payment in paper either by mail or in person at the Probate Clerk’s Office of the Office of the Register of Wills located at Court Building A, 515 5th Street, NW, 3rd Floor, Washington, DC 20001.