COVID Symptoms
If you have tested positive for COVID-19, currently have symptoms of COVID-19, or have had recent known exposure to COVID-19, DO NOT come to the courthouse. You may appear remotely by Zoom. Contact the court at 470@co.collin.tx.us as soon as you know.
Weather/Emergency Closures or Delays
If any of Plano ISD, Frisco ISD, Allen ISD, or McKinney ISD has a delayed start or closes, the 470th District Court will follow the same schedule for in-person proceedings. Virtual proceedings will continue as scheduled, unless it is impossible (for example, loss of power).
No Auxiliary Court
All 470th cases must be heard by the 470th District Court, and not by the auxiliary court. No prove-ups or ex parte requests may be heard in the auxiliary court.
In-person prove-ups are not required for agreed orders–see below for details about submitting agreed orders. If you wish to come to court for a prove-up, you must schedule it on a day the court is available. Email 470@co.collin.tx.us to schedule.
If the judge is out when an emergency request for ex parte relief is presented, the court will either rule remotely based on the electronically-filed pleadings, or the 470th court coordinator may refer you to a sitting district judge.
Proof of Notice
If you want to go forward on a motion/hearing without the other side present, you must tender proof of notice to the court either by filing your proof of notice or by offering it as an exhibit for the court reporter.
The Office of the Attorney General Child Support Division has a website for sending them citations and notices: http://csapps.oag.texas.gov/service-citation-notice
Safety / Extra Security
If you think your case might need extra security (whether for the parties or due to family members), please email the bailiff at 470@co.collin.tx.us before your hearing so that we can schedule sufficient court security in advance. If you have concerns, please help us be safe.
Settings
Time Limits — A “full-day” trial is two and a half hours per side. A “half-day” trial is approximately an hour and fifteen minutes per side. A 3-day jury trial is four hours per side.
Hearing — To set a hearing, please email the court coordinator at 470@co.collin.tx.us. You will be provided with the Court’s available dates and should work with the other side to get an agreed date. Please e-file a notice of hearing with the date filled in. The coordinator does not add the case to the Court’s calendar until a completed notice of hearing is submitted.
Trial — To set a trial, please email the court coordinator at 470@co.collin.tx.us. You will be provided with the Court’s available dates and should work with the other side to get an agreed date. Please e-file the Court’s form Scheduling Order with the trial date and mediation details filled in. If, after several attempts, you are unable to get an agreed date, please e-file a proposed scheduling order with a letter describing your efforts.
Trials without a scheduling order on file are limited to 1 HOUR per side.
Jury Trials — A formal pre-trial hearing is required, no later than the Wednesday before the jury trial begins. A Jury Trial Discovery Control Plan and Scheduling Order must be completed and signed when the trial is set. The scheduling order specifies the many tasks that must be completed at or before the pre-trial hearing, including expert challenges, proposed jury charges, pre-marked exhibits, witness lists, etc.
Docket – Checking In and Calling Cases
Check in with the bailiff before the time of your hearing. If you plan to leave our courtroom, give the bailiff your cell phone number.
Let the bailiff know if you have an expert or professional witness, such as a first responder, teacher, doctor, counselor, or caseworker. The court will allow these witnesses to be called out of order to respect their other duties and reduce cost to the litigants.
The court will call through the docket each day and decide the order in which cases will be heard — the court does not put cases in order in advance.
Mediation
Mediation is required before trial. Scheduling orders without a mediator name will be rejected. If mediation has not been attempted, you are limited to 1 HOUR per side at trial.
Ex Parte Relief – TROs, etc.
It is preferred to submit your request for ex parte relief electronically without coming to the courthouse in person. If you file a motion requesting ex parte relief and submit your proposed order through e-filing, please call or e-mail the court coordinator to let her know that you want action taken on the request. If you do not call or email the coordinator to alert her that you want the request addressed, it will just remain in the e-filing queue without action.
Please do not request TROs that contain items that are in the standing orders. The court will reject TROs that largely overlap the standing orders. Please put the few items of genuine concern in the TRO so that the court can tell what relief you’re actually requesting.
Continuances
Any continuance (even if agreed) for a case that was filed more than 12 months ago requires a hearing and court approval.
Appearing By Phone or Video
Lawyers, parties, and witnesses are welcome to appear remotely by Zoom videoconference. If your case is already set by Zoom, your notice will have the Meeting ID and connection info. If your case is set in person, and you want to appear by Zoom, contact the court at 470@co.collin.tx.us as soon as possible.
Child Interviews
If Texas Family Code sec. 153.009 requires the Court to interview a child, the interview will be conducted on the day of trial, after the child is released from school. Please arrange for the child to be brought to the courthouse by an adult who is not a party to the case. If a child interview is requested in the pleadings, it must be listed in your pre-trial scheduling order or docketed on the court’s docket in advance. Requests made on the day of trial will not be considered. Contact the court coordinator at 470@co.collin.tx.us before your trial date to ensure the child interview is properly scheduled on the Court’s calendar.
Courtroom Cell Phone Policy
You are welcome to silently use phones, tablets, laptops, etc. in the courtroom. If device use becomes disruptive, you will not be allowed to continue to use the device. During jury trials, if your device makes any sound in the courtroom, you will be subject to an immediate $50 fine.
Courtroom Technology
If you plan to display a device (laptop, tablet, etc.) on the screens in the courtroom, you are encouraged to test and troubleshoot the equipment in advance. Generally, the connections at the counsel table closest to the jury box seem to work more reliably. There are HDMI and VGA connections at counsel table:
Apple devices do not work well with the courtroom technology. For example, Apple devices may only display on the one large screen and not any of the smaller screens.
If you plan to play a video, please test the playback and sound in advance. The court is not responsible for playing your video for you.
Restrictions on Sealing Cases
Parties may not agree to seal cases. Sealing requires court approval after an evidentiary hearing. Cases will not be sealed before final trial. If you are requesting to seal a case, please contact the court coordinator at 470@co.collin.tx.us to schedule the hearing, which will be held after the final judgment is signed.
Property Division
If you are asking the Court to divide property, you must provide a proposed property division which lists all assets and debts and their values. The court prefers an editable format, such as an Excel spreadsheet. If you do not bring a proposed property division with you on the date of your trial, you will be required to fill out this one.
Spousal Support or Payment of Expenses
If you are asking the Court to order spousal support or divide expenses, you must provide a financial information statement listing income and expenses. If you do not bring an FIS with you on the date of your hearing, you will be required to fill out this one.
Health Insurance and Cash Medical Support
In every case involving children, the parties must file a pleading or statement describing the children’s health insurance. See Tex. Fam. Code § 154.181(b).
If the children are receiving health insurance through a government program such as CHIP or Medicaid, the obligor must pay cash medical support in the approximate amount of 9% of the obligor’s annual resources for all children. See Tex. Fam. Code § 154.182(b-2). The court will not sign any order where the children are receiving government health insurance unless the obligor is ordered to make payments of cash medical support pursuant to the Family Code.
Sensitive Data and Children’s Initials
Under TRCP 21c, attorneys are prohibited from filing documents containing unredacted sensitive data. You must redact the sensitive data and use initials for each child’s name in all pleadings. Do not mark filings as containing sensitive data–it is not a substitute for redacting.
Tex. Fam. Code § 102.008(b)(2) requires a child’s name and date of birth to be included in a petition in a suit affecting the parent-child relationship or a divorce petition involving children. These are the only filings that should contain a child’s name or birth date. Since the inclusion of unredacted sensitive data is required, these petitions are the only filings that should be marked “NOTICE: THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS SENSITIVE DATA.” All other filings should not contain unredacted sensitive data and should not be marked CONTAINS SENSITIVE DATA.
To ensure a final order is enforceable by contempt, you may want to include the children’s names in the final order.
Photos of Children
In hearings relating to children, it can often be helpful to offer exhibits containing photos of the children.
Motions for New Trial
Motions for new trial will be decided on the pleadings and will only be set for hearing if argument is requested by the Court.
The court will set a hearing if:
(1) the motion shows that an evidentiary hearing is required pursuant to TRCP 324(b)(1) or other law;
(2) the verified motion and sworn affidavits are in proper form and timely filed;
(3) the motion alleges specific facts that, if true, would entitle the movant to a new trial, and
(4) a hearing is timely requested.
Please schedule prove-ups by emailing the court coordinator at 470@co.collin.tx.us. All 470th cases must be heard by the 470th District Court, and not by the auxiliary court.
No Prove-Ups Required for Agreed Orders
If you have an agreed final order that has been signed by all parties, you do not have to prove up the case in person or by affidavit. Prove-ups are not required for agreed orders if ALL of the following conditions are met:
- There is an agreed decree or order signed by every party and attorney involved in the case;
- All signatures are distinctive written signatures or DocuSign-style signatures, not “/s/ Typed Name;” and
- The Appearances section of the order indicates that the parties did not appear in person and that the making of a record was waived.
Default Judgments
Before you can schedule a hearing to finalize a default judgment, you must complete this checklist and file it with the court. Once it has been completed and filed, email the court coordinator at 470@co.collin.tx.us to schedule your default. This will help ensure you do not have to come back to court multiple times in order to finalize your default.
Withdrawals
Withdrawals within 30 days of trial must be set for hearing so that the court can admonish the client.
The Collin County local rules may provide one way for attorneys to withdraw without the necessity of appearing. A helpful checklist for attorney withdrawals is available here. Review and follow TRCP 10 and local rule 4.3:
(c) A motion to withdraw may be granted without a hearing under the following circumstances:
(1) the motion is accompanied by a certificate by the client attesting to the client’s consent to the withdrawal or a certificate by another lawyer attesting that the lawyer has been retained to represent the client in the case; or
(2) the motion is accompanied by a letter that notifies the client of the client’s right to object to the withdrawal within ten days of the date that the letter was mailed; the withdrawing attorney certifies that the motion and letter were sent to the client’s last known address by certified and regular mail; and no objection is filed.