Karen M. Miller

File the QDRO Motion for Entry with the Plan Administrator's pre-approval letter (or a letter stating none is required). Then: attorneys upload all proposed orders via OLS; pro se litigants mail the documents to the Court. No exceptions are made. The Court does not act on letters, notes, or e-mails — only on petitions and motions properly filed with the Clerk, and any document e-mailed to the Court must state it was simultaneously e-mailed to the opposing side or it is returned as ex parte.

Complete pre-trial mediation once the trial is set, even if the case already mediated before the Order Setting Trial. Failure to attend absent an order waiving it results in striking the case from the trial docket and/or sanctions, up to dismissal without further notice or hearing. Temporary-relief hearings likewise require mediation completed and the report filed first (AO 5.207; 30-minute hearings).

For all remote hearings, premark every proposed exhibit (exhibit number, case style and number, hearing date, judge's name) and deliver to the Court via U.S. mail or the Main County Courthouse drop box at least three business days before the hearing — late or e-mailed exhibits will not be accepted or considered. Evidentiary hearings cannot be handled remotely. A party testifying by phone must be with a notary or attorney who can certify identity; on Zoom video, the Court acts as notary.