Key take-aways from April 14 meeting:

• The procedures for court proceedings with respect to Chapters 51, 54, and 55 will be published and subsequently forwarded to this group.
• Waivers are key documents for the opening and closing of estates; please obtain them from all interested parties.
• Temporary guardianship hearings are currently being held on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
• Permanent guardianship hearings may not be held because of the various in-person statutory requirements.
• The judges are looking for ways to keep cases moving and getting them closed; they want to avoid calendar congestion when Safer at Home is no longer in effect. 
• Zoom hearings are to be used whenever possible, if all interested parties may be heard using this technique. 
• For any hearings scheduled via Zoom, the clerk will send the passcode and other information necessary for participation. 
• If you have questions or problems, please reach out to the court via the clerks.
• The deadline for guardianship accountings has been unofficially extended through the end of the month; there is no need to petition for an extension until then. 
• Please exercise caution in using innovative techniques for the execution of documents such as wills; what the current judges may find acceptable now may not be what the judges a decade from now will find acceptable.
• Next Bench-Bar Meeting via Zoom will be on May 11^th at noon.