1. I have been appointed an executor of a relative's will and it is now time to probate the will. I have an attorney but I would like more information. Where do I begin?
2. We wish to adopt a child and would like some information about the court procedure.
3. Where do I go for a marriage license?
Today we will examine how to conducting legal research using a court's web site. Someday you may need to file a document with a court or be involved in a court action. Even if you have an attorney you will still want some background information about the court before meeting with your attorney. Many courts have added useful information to their web sites making the court's web page a good place to begin.
Let's examine Summit County Probate Court web site as an example of a well developed court web site. The Probate Court is officially called the Probate Division of the Summit County Court of Common Pleas but I am shortening it to "Probate Court" in this posting. If you are from a different county, here are the links to some nearby Probate Court web sites :
All other county court web sites
1. Jurisdiction of the Court – The first thing you need to find out is what types of cases are heard by the court. Even if you are just filing court documents, you need to make sure you are in the correct court. On the court's web site, look for information about the jurisdiction of the court. Sometimes the jurisdiction information is on the first page of the court's web site and other courts describe jurisdiction under the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) link. The Summit County Probate Court has jurisdiction information listed under the Case Types link in the left menu.
We see that the Probate Court handles estates, guardianships, adoptions, name changes, birth registration and marriage licenses.
2. Rules of Court – Court rules govern court procedures. Local rules deal with specifics of the local court such as hours of the court, fees, time requirements of notices, filing procedures, and the format of documents filed with the court. The Probate Court web site has a link called Local Rules. Court documents are sometime rejected by the court when the court rules are not followed. The deadlines are very specific and need to be closely followed, so take time to read through the court rules.
In addition to the local rules of court, there are state court rules that also apply. For the Probate Court, the Rules of Superintendence for the Courts of Ohio lists the rules for fair, impartial and speedy resolution of cases. Other Ohio Rules of Court may apply so consult your attorney to be sure. Here is Ohio Rules of Court web page with links to all the state court rules.
3. Court Forms - Many courts are posting blank court forms right on their web site. This has saved people a lot of time. The Probate Court has a very large selection of forms in PDF format. You can fill out the forms online and then click the Print Form button to print the completed form. There are sets of forms for probating a will, adoption, name change, trusts and of course the marriage license application! The forms need to be properly filed with the court and cannot be submitted over the web. Some of the probate procedures are very complex and require the assistance of an attorney, but other forms, such as the marriage license application, are fairly simple.
The Ohio Supreme Court also has a nice selection of generic probate forms in PDF. Try this site for forms you cannot find on the Summit County Probate Court's site or if your county Probate Court does not have online probate forms.
4. Case and records search – The Summit County courts have been working very hard to make court records available to the public. Other counties may not have the same online resources. The Probate Court provides three different case searches: the General Index, the Historical Case Index (very limited covering 8/18/87 to 12/28/99), and the Historical Marriage Index (also very limited covering 01/01/86 to 12/28/99). You can search by party name, case type, date and a few other search options. If you are following a case already in Probate Court, then you will want to search the online case index by clicking Case Access in the left menu.
Other useful information on the web site you should look at is: information about the judges, frequently asked questions (FAQs), contact information for court personnel, court location directions, and links to other resources.
Please read the court's web site disclaimer. The web site is provided only as a public service. Any legal advice and legal assistance with probate issues should come from your attorney.
Ask me a question
If you ever wondered where to find legal information on the web, post your question below. I cannot answer legal questions, especially if the question contains facts about a personal situation. I can direct you to sources of legal information on the web, particularly primary legal materials such as laws, legislation, court material and agency regulations. So ask away!
I use delicious (the social bookmarking site) to collect and save all links listed in my Akron Law Café postings. The bookmark list works best if sorted alphabetically by title.
