Requirements & Information

Contact Information

Requirements & Information

Standards of Professionalism

Magistrate Evans expects all attorneys who appear to know and adhere to the Twelfth Judicial Circuit’s Standards of Professionalism, also available on the websites of the Manatee County Bar Association and the Sarasota County Bar Association.

Courtroom Conduct

All parties are expected to adhere to the Twelfth Judicial Circuit Family Division Rules of Courtroom Etiquette and the Rules for Parties in Child Support Cases, posted both inside and outside the courtroom. Children are never permitted to be in the courtroom without a prior Court Order.

Self-Represented Litigants Please read if you do not have an attorney

• The Court must apply the same rules to all parties, regardless of whether you have an attorney.
• The Magistrate may not talk to you about your case outside of the courtroom, so please do not call to speak with the Magistrate.
• The Magistrate’s Assistant may not help you with your case or send information to the other party or attorney for you. The Magistrate’s Assistant may not “give the Magistrate a message.” Please do not ask the Magistrate’s Assistant for the outcome of a hearing or verify that an order has been signed; you may review the Clerk’s website for details about your case.
• Whenever you file something with the Clerk or provide the Court a copy, you must send a copy to all the attorneys or parties at the same time.
• You may also contact the Twelfth Judicial Circuit Self-Help Center for guidance or call (941) 861‐8191.
• Pro Se Parties must always file a Form C when filing a document or seeking hearing time with the Hearing Officer for Child Support matters.

Orders of Referral to the Magistrate

Please refer to the Judges’ Requirements for a detailed explanation of appropriate issues that may be referred to the Magistrate. Their Requirements also specify exclusions. Please become familiar with this list.

If a referral order is needed, it is the responsibility of the attorney to submit an “Order of Referral to General Magistrate” that identifies the General Magistrate by name and sets forth the issue(s) to be resolved, the date of filing of the pleading(s) and the DIN. You may refer to Family Law Form 12.920(b), Order of Referral to General Magistrate (04/22).

Child Support Issues

No order of referral is required for child support hearings pursuant to local Admin. Order and Rule 12.491, unless additional relief such as attorney’s fees is being requested. Child support issues include items in the nature of health insurance for the parties’ children, health care expense payment/reimbursement and childcare as well as life insurance to secure same.

• Requests to appear by audio/video communication equipment are governed by Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure 12.451 and Florida Rules of Judicial Administration 2.530.
• Audio/video Zoom appearances may be permitted either by agreement of the parties or for good cause shown via a written request and upon reasonable notice to all other parties.
• A motion and proposed order, with contact information for both parties or sufficient copies and envelopes for conforming, should be submitted as soon as the need for a Zoom appearance arises, but no less than 5 days prior to the date of the hearing.
• If all parties stipulate to a Zoom appearance, parties shall submit a stipulation along with the motion or otherwise represent to the Court via email to the Hearing Officer’s Assistant informing the Court that it is an unopposed motion for Zoom appearance.
• For Audio Only: The party testifying may, at his or her sole expense, arrange to be in the presence of a notary public to conduct the oath and swear in the party testifying prior to his testimony. In the alternative, the party testifying may choose to be sworn in by the Hearing Officer. If party testifying is not located in the State of Florida and chooses to be sworn in by the Hearing Officer, party testifying consents to be bound by an oath administered under the general laws of the State of Florida.
• Rules Re: Zoom Appearances: The party appearing by Zoom should sign on at least ten (10) minutes prior to the scheduled hearing time and must be:
  • Available for the entire period reserved for the hearing and one (1) additional hour,
  • In a location conducive to participation in a hearing/trial for the time reserved, and
  • At a location that minimizes any background noise.
• Parties/counsel are strictly prohibited from appearing remotely from a moving vehicle.
• If the party does not appear on Zoom as scheduled, the hearing will not be continued and the hearing will proceed in the absence of that party.
• The court reserves the right to terminate an audio/video Zoom appearance of any party at any time, should that party use inappropriate language or otherwise disrupt the proceedings. Any such appearances are subject to termination of the Zoom appearance or a delay of the proceeding.

When drafting a Zoom Notice of Hearing you must include Magistrate Evans’s Zoom credentials, the appropriate ADA notice, and the appropriate DIN for each motion to be heard.

• All hearings in front of Hearing Officer Natalya Evans are in person at the Manatee County Judicial Center unless prior approval to appear by Zoom audio/video is obtained from the Court as specified in Section A. Remote Appearance.
• Attorneys must schedule on the JACS. Cases not appearing on the JACS docket will not be heard.
• Until further Notice, all Child Support hearings in Manatee County shall be coordinated with and scheduled through the Department of Revenue.
• For cases being heard by the Magistrate in Venice, please check available time on JACS.
• Attorneys representing a party in Department of Revenue/IV-D Child Support proceedings must clear time with the Child Support Program/DOR attorney prior to scheduling on JACS.
• Hearings 60 minutes or Less: Attorneys requiring hearings of 60 minutes or less may schedule the matter on JACS on the available private attorney hearing days (Note: Attorneys may use two consecutive 30-minute slots if available).
• Hearings Longer than 60 Minutes: Attorneys requiring more than 60 minutes of hearing time must call the Hearing Officer’s Assistant. Hearings scheduled on JACS for more than 60 minutes without prior approval will be cancelled.
• Pro se litigants requesting hearings on self-filed motions must submit a Form C along with the motion/petition to the Manatee County Clerk of the Circuit Court, Civil/Family Division. Hearings will not be scheduled without a Form C and proof of service completed that notice was provided to all parties involved in your case on the Pro-Se Motion filed. (Please complete the certificate of service in its entirety). The Form C is also available at the Clerk’s Office.
• Cancellation of Hearings: Attorneys needing to cancel a previously set hearing involving the Department of Revenue/Child Support Program, if less than three (3) calendar days before the hearing, must notify the Hearing Officer’s Assistant and the Department of Revenue by telephone. The filing of the Notice of Cancellation less than three days prior to the hearing does not cancel the hearing in JACS. A copy of the Notice of Cancellation must be sent to the office of the Hearing Officer by email.

Download the Form C.

Hearing Officer's Assistant Cannot Give Legal Advice

The hearing officer’s assistant cannot answer your legal questions and will not “explain” your situation to the magistrate. Your opportunity to speak to the hearing officer happens only in court. Litigation of contested matters via email communications to the hearing officer assistant is not permitted.

Email Policy

Email is strictly a method of communicating basic information and sending documents and is not a medium to state a position, make an argument, or attempt to persuade the Court on a substantive or procedural matter. Emails to the magistrate assistant should be devoid of information or statements that are unnecessary, superfluous, irrelevant, or adversarial. Arguments should be confined to letters, motions, memoranda, and legal documents attached to the email.

Emails sent to the Hearing Officer's Assistant shall comply with all rules and requirements governing contact with the Court including ex parte communication.

Contact Information

Office Hours

8:30 am to 5 pm; closed for lunch Noon-1 pm

Courtroom

Proceedings are held in multiple courtrooms at the Manatee County Judicial Center, 1051 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton, FL 34205 or by Zoom technology. The specific courtroom will be designated on the daily docket.

Mailing Address

P.O. Box 3000, Bradenton, FL 34206

Physical Address

1051 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton, FL 34205

Telephone

(941) 749‐3646

Email

To communicate with the Hearing Officer’s Assistant, email Beth Ozimek. To solely submit orders, pleadings, and other documents email the Manatee County Child Support Hearing Officer Division email: CSManatee2@jud12.flcourts.org.

In compliance with a directive from the Chief Justice of Florida, this Circuit is moving to acceptance of proposed Recommended Orders and Orders Approving Recommended Orders through the ePortal, not through email. Please see Administrative Order 22-1.2, entered January 14, 2022, for details and specific requirements.

Effective immediately, all proposed orders submitted by attorneys to Hearing Officer Evans must be submitted in compliance with Administrative Order 22-1.2 through the ePortal directly to Hearing Officer Evans, and not filed on the Progress Docket. All Proposed Orders must be in Word format only. All Proposed Orders must be accompanied by a cover letter that is also submitted through the e-Portal in PDF/A format. The submitting attorney must ensure all parties/attorneys receive a courtesy copy of both the proposed Recommended Order and the cover letter. Do not send more than one proposed Recommended Order in a transmission.

Hearing Officer Evans expects that you will only submit a proposed Order when all attorneys or parties agree on the form. If there is a disagreement on the form, or an attorney does not respond within a reasonable time, you may then send the proposed Order with a concise statement identifying the disagreement and the steps you took. The opposing attorney may submit at the same time, an alternate proposed Order through the ePortal. Please do not include a directive such as “hold this proposed order for x days for an objection to be lodged.”

For readability purposes, Hearing Officer Evans encourages Times New Roman Style, at least 12-point font with one-inch margins when drafting proposed Orders.

The Court reviews motions and responses directly from the Court file, and for that reason, the Court routinely does not need a courtesy copy of the motions and notices. However, the Court encourages parties to provide text searchable electronic copies of the supporting materials and any directly relevant cases, which must be delivered no later than three days prior to the hearing. Please give opposing counsel — and the Court — the opportunity to be prepared to address your motion.

Expedited or Emergency Hearings

The Hearing Officer’s assistant is not authorized to offer or schedule emergency or expedited hearing time. The moving attorney is required to confer with opposing counsel in a good faith effort to resolve the issue prior to filing an emergency motion. Any emergency motion must include a certificate of good faith that states the movant has contacted opposing counsel and his/her position on the relief sought. Requests for emergency or expedited hearing time must be made by contacting the Hearing Officer’s assistant by phone or email and providing a copy of the contested motion. The Hearing Officer will review the motion to determine whether an expedited or emergency hearing is warranted.

In-Person Hearings

Exhibits and evidence should be pre-marked before the hearing or trial begins.

So that evidence is filed in the correct case, exhibit labels should have the following information legibly printed on them:

• Designation of the party moving the item into evidence (i.e., Petitioner, Respondent, Mother, Father, etc.)
• A numbering and lettering system that clearly identifies each, individual exhibit or piece of evidence from another (i.e., 1, 2a, 2b, Composite 3, etc.);
• The date the exhibit is entered into evidence (if known ahead of time); and
• Case number (i.e., 2024 DR 1234).

Zoom Hearings

• No later than 48 hours prior to the hearing, each party must provide to the Court and opposing side copies of any documents or case law to be used or referred to during the hearing or offered into evidence. No additional documents or exhibits may be emailed to the Hearing Officer/Magistrate during the hearing.
• Any exhibits shall be pre-marked.
• All documents shall be submitted as a PDF file via email to the Hearing Officer’s Office with your case number and date of hearing in the subject line.
• In the email, each exhibit shall be attached as a separate PDF document.
• All confidential information shall be redacted by the individual submitting the proposed exhibit (including, but not limited to, information such as account numbers, SSN, dates of birth, etc.).

Status/CM Conferences: If a party needs a status/case management conference on a case, please file a motion that details the reasons for the request and send a courtesy copy to the Hearing Officer’s Division email. The matter may be scheduled using the procedures in Section B (Hearing Procedures), above. If all parties stipulate to a status/case management conference, a motion is not required. The reason for the status/CM must be stated on the notice.

DOR-involved Cases: Attorneys representing a party in a DOR/IVD Child Support case must coordinate hearing time with the Child Support Program/DOR Counsel before the matter is scheduled on JACS or a notice of hearing is filed.

Non-DOR Cases: For hearings 60 minutes or less, the attorneys shall coordinate hearing time and may schedule the matter on JACS on days allocated for non-DOR hearings. For hearings longer than 60 minutes, the attorneys shall contact the Hearing Officer’s assistant by phone or email for scheduling availability and assistance.

Notice for Trial: The Notice for Trial must comply with Family Law Rule 12.440 and describe:

• the type of case to be tried;
• the specific issues to be tried;
• the total time it will take all parties to present their case.

The original should be filed with the clerk and a copy provided to the court.

DOR Hearing Days: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays are reserved for the exclusive use of the Department of Revenue.

Pro Se Motions/Trials: The Hearing Officer reserves two Mondays per month for the scheduling of pro se motions/trials. Other dates may be utilized as appropriate.

Private Attorney Cases: DOR and non-DOR hearings/trials with private attorneys are typically scheduled on certain Mondays and on Friday mornings.

Find links to forms commonly used throughout the circuit on the Family Information & Forms page. Find division-specific forms under the Manatee Tab on the Family Division page.

Reserving an Interpreter

The responsibility for scheduling an interpreter rest solely with the person in need of interpreting services. The Court does not automatically schedule interpreters. Interpretation services can be requested by telephone, email, or submission of the online request form. Each court event must be scheduled separately with the interpreter’s office. Requests for court interpreters should be made at least five (5) business days in advance of the scheduled court event. Requests made with less than five (5) business days’ notice may not be accommodated. In cases where interpreting services are required for languages other than Spanish, additional time may be necessary to arrange for a qualified interpreter or a telephonic interpreting service may be used.