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Circuit court eFiling - eFiling a new guardianship or civil commitment case as an attorney

  • Updated

    • Purpose: If you are an attorney with Corporation Counsel and are the Petitioning Agency on a GN, JG, ME, or JM case, access is provided to all attorneys from your Corporation Counsel office to view or file additional documents on that case. This article walks through how to file a new guardianship or civil commitment case as an attorney.

    Applicable Users: Attorneys

    1. Visit the eFiling website at https://efiling.wicourts.gov/ and log in. For more information, see the article Logging into Wisconsin circuit court eFiling.
    2. Select file new case from the main navigation or the [File a new case] button from the bottom menu.
      Wisconsin Circuit court eFiling homepage with attention called to file new case link and button

    3. Select the County you are filing in and select the applicable Class code for the type of guardianship case you are filing. 

      New filing screen with attention called to county and class code dropdown
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    4. If applicable, select the appropriate agency from the Which agency is this filing for? dropdown menu. Then, select [Continue].
      Note: The Which agency is this filing for? field only displays for attorneys associated with a county agency.
    5. Select [Add party] to add parties to the case.
      Parties screen with attention called to Add party button
      Note: The yellow banner will tell you what parties are required for the selected class codes.
    6. Complete the fields on the New party window. Start by choosing the Party type, beginning with the filing party. Select [Add attorney] to associate the attorney with the filing party.
      New party entry screen with attention called to Party type dropdown and Add attorney button
    7. Select [Save, and Add next party] to add additional parties to the case.
      New party screen Is an interpreter needed? yes/no prompt and Save and Add next party button
    8. If the party you entered requires an interpreter, select [Yes] and select the language needed form the [Language] dropdown.
      New party screen Is an interpreter needed? yes/no prompt set to Yes and corresponding Language selection dropdown menu
    9. When all parties have been added, review them for accuracy, and select [Continue].
      Parties screen with two parties listed and attention called to Continue button
    10. Select [Upload documents] to browse for and upload a filing document and other associated documents to the case. Review the bulleted list to ensure your documents are properly formatted.
      Note: The yellow banner will tell you what filing document is required for the selected class codes.
      Documents screen with attention called to file requirements list, Upload documents button and informational banner noting that a petition or summons and complaint filing document is required for the case type
    11. From the Document type dropdown menu, select the correct document type, and enter a descriptive title in the Document title text entry field. Then, select [Continue].
      Documents screen with attention called to Document type dropdown menu, Document title text field and Continue button
      Note: An accurate and descriptive title is beneficial for identifying documents. The title entered here is visible in the View documents list on the My cases screen, and is visible to the courts.
      If after selecting [Continue], a red error message displays: “A filing document is required,” you may not have selected the correct type of document to initiate the type of case you are filing. The system looks at the Document type field to determine if the right filing document type is uploaded.
    12. On the Review page, review the filing for accuracy. You can select a document link to open and view any of your uploaded documents. Select [Continue] when you are ready to proceed.
      Review filing screen with attention called to uploaded document hyperlink and Continue button
      Note: The Notes to clerk text entry field functions like a virtual sticky note on your filing. Anything you type in this box will display to the clerk while they process your filing, but are deleted once your filing is accepted. These notes are not permanently saved to the case.
    13. On the Ready to file page, select the checkbox next to filing(s) you wish to submit, or select the checkbox next to a county name to submit all filings in that county. Choose a Payment type (if applicable), and select [File] or [File and Pay].
      Ready to file screen with attention called to selected County filings and individual case filing checkboxes and File button
      Note: If not filing on behalf of a county agency, the $35 eFiling fee will be assessed and the [File and Pay] button will display. Upon selection of [File and Pay], a payment method must be selected: US Bank or Court Debit Account.
      When making payment: 1) If paying with a credit/debit card or eCheck via US Bank, a transaction fee will be applied to the total; 2) If paying with a court debit account, it is your responsibility to ensure proper funds are available in the account at the time of filing. To learn how to set up a CDA, see the article Creating and managing a court debit account.
    14. Upon submission, the case is transmitted to the courts. If no fees were assessed, no further action is needed.
      Filings submitted success message
      Note: If fees were assessed and US Bank selected as the payment method, select [Make payment with US Bank] to proceed to the US Bank ePayment website. Do not close the web browser or navigate away from the US Bank ePayment website page at this point until payment is complete. The website link will be active for approximately 10-15 minutes after the case has been filed.
      US Bank is the vendor that processes circuit court credit card and electronic check transactions. A US Bank checking or savings account is not required to pay for filings on the US Bank ePayment website.
    15. If you wait longer than that to complete your payment or exit the system before the payment process is complete, you will need to select the $ payment needed link in main navigation to make payment. You may need to wait 1-2 hours for the filing in need of payment to appear. Your filing will not be processed by the county until payment has been made. Filings will expire after 48 hours without payment.
      Wisconsin circuit court eFiling homepage with attention called to payment needed navigation link denoting one filing is in need of payment
       
    16. Once any payments are received, the new case is processed by the circuit court. An email confirmation will be sent to the filer and the file-stamped documents will be visible on the My cases page of the eFiling website.
      Note: Though the new guardianship case may initially be filed as a JG case type, the Register in Probate’s office may still choose to process the case as a GN case type. If there are questions on a new case filing, contact the county.
    17. The eFiling system generates an Electronic Filing Notice that must be printed and served traditionally along with other case initiating documents.

    Support

    Contact the eFile support center if you have further questions. Staff are available Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., except for court holidays.

    Phone: 1-800-462-8843
    Online support form: https://www.wicourts.gov/ecourts/efilesupportform.htm
    Email: efilesupport@wicourts.gov

    Wisconsin Court Systems (Updated: )