Se Habla Español
Lines are Available 24/7
Se Habla Español
Se Habla Español
Lines are Available 24/7
Se Habla Español
This guide explains how probate and guardianship cases actually move through the Sixth Judicial Circuit in Pasco County: the dual-courthouse structure, the administrative orders currently in force, and the filing mechanics that decide how fast an estate moves. Every order cited links to the court’s official PDF on jud6.org.
Pasco is a dual-courthouse county: the West Pasco Judicial Center, 7530 Little Road, New Port Richey, FL 34654 — (727) 847-8128, pascoclerk.com — serves the west side, and the historic courthouse in Dade City serves east Pasco. File at the courthouse serving where the decedent lived. Probate here is heard by circuit judges alongside civil dockets rather than a standalone probate bench, so complete, clean first filings move estates measurably faster.
Pasco requires e-filing through the statewide portal, but under the county’s e-filing order (AO 2023-040 PA-CIR) wills, codicils and separate writings must still be deposited with the Clerk in their original form — the scan you e-file does not satisfy § 732.901’s 10-day deposit requirement. AO 2022-017 PA-CIR then governs how a deposited original may later be accessed once the Clerk has it.
These are the administrative orders currently in force that govern probate, guardianship and mental-health practice in Pasco County — the county-specific PA-CIR orders plus the circuit-wide PA/PI orders. Each links to the official PDF on jud6.org.
| Order | Subject | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 2017-034 PA/PI-CIR | Selection and payment of experts | Identifies which court-appointed experts and professionals are selected and paid by the court system, per § 916.301 and AOSC17-12. |
| 2019-017 PA/PI-CIR | Firearm purchase prohibition proceedings | Clerk procedures and form orders under § 790.065 for mental-health adjudications that bar firearm purchases. |
| 2019-056 PA/PI-CIR | General magistrates | Appoints the circuit’s general magistrates, including under Probate Rules 5.095 and 5.697 and § 744.369(2) for guardianship review. |
| 2021-052 PA-CIR | After-hours Baker Act / Marchman Act procedures (Pasco) | Baker Act and Marchman Act petitions arriving after 4:00 p.m. are processed under modified filing hours rather than same-day. |
| 2022-017 PA-CIR | Case files & original documents (Pasco) | Defines which Pasco case files remain paper versus electronic, and how deposited originals — including original wills — are maintained and accessed. |
| 2023-040 PA-CIR | Electronic filing in Pasco County | Mandatory e-filing, with a list of documents whose originals must still be delivered to the Clerk — wills and codicils included. |
| 2024-007 PA/PI-CIR | Expert and professional fees | Sets the fee schedule for experts and professionals paid with state funds (competency and capacity examinations, evaluations), consistent with AOSC17-12. |
| 2024-025 PA/PI-CIR | Guardianship & guardian advocate procedures | The circuit’s master order on guardianship practice: background checks, filing requirements, clerk audits and guardian education. |
| 2025-023 PA-CIR | Baker Act hearings — Pasco County | Designates which of Pasco’s four receiving facilities host Baker Act hearings and the transport obligations of the others. |
| 2026-006 PA/PI-CIR | Confidentiality of examining committee & guardian ad litem reports | Governs access to the § 744.331(3) examining committee reports and guardian ad litem reports in incapacity proceedings. |
Verified against the circuit’s published administrative orders as of August 11, 2026. Superseded orders are removed automatically when the court replaces them. Click a subject to jump to the explanation.
What each order actually requires, in plain terms:
Appoints the Sixth Circuit’s general magistrates under Rule 1.490, Probate Rules 5.095 and 5.697, and § 744.369(2) — the provision covering judicial review of guardianship reports. The appointment list lives in an appendix the court can amend without reissuing the order, so the names change; the structure doesn’t. Practically: much of the routine review of guardianship accountings and plans in Pasco and Pinellas runs through magistrates, and consenting to a magistrate is often the faster path for uncontested matters.
Read the full order (official PDF) →
Baker Act (ch. 394) and Marchman Act (ch. 397) petitions filed in Pasco after 4:00 p.m. fall under modified after-hours procedures — the practical takeaway for families in crisis is to file before 4:00 p.m. or expect next-day processing.
Read the full order (official PDF) →
Pasco’s transition-to-electronic-files order: the Clerk no longer creates paper files for most new cases, but must keep specific categories on paper — and initial petitions for Baker Act, Marchman Act, vulnerable-adult exploitation and risk protection cases are among the documents the Clerk handles on paper at the initial proceeding. For estates, this is the order that governs custody of deposited originals once your original will is in the Clerk’s hands.
Read the full order (official PDF) →
Attorneys must e-file in all divisions — but the order lists documents that may be scanned and e-filed only if the original is also submitted to the Clerk: wills, codicils and separate writings identifying devises of tangible property, consents for adoption, promissory notes in foreclosure, and anything the court specifically orders. Filing the scan without depositing the original is one of the most common self-represented mistakes in Pasco probate.
Read the full order (official PDF) →
The Sixth Circuit’s operational master order for guardianships and guardian advocacy. The provisions that most affect families and counsel:
Read the full order (official PDF) →
Pasco now has four Baker Act receiving facilities; this 2025 order designates which serve as host facilities where hearings are actually conducted, and obligates the non-designated transporting facilities to move patients to a host facility for hearing. If a family member is held under the Baker Act, which facility they are in determines where the hearing happens.
Read the full order (official PDF) →
In every incapacity proceeding the court appoints a three-member examining committee within five days of the petition — one psychiatrist or physician, plus two members drawn from psychology, gerontology, nursing, social work and related fields (§ 744.331(3)). This 2026 order governs the confidentiality of, and access to, those committee reports and guardian ad litem reports. For families: the medical and functional detail in these reports is not a public record you can simply pull — access follows the order’s procedures.
Read the full order (official PDF) →
File at the courthouse serving where the decedent lived: the West Pasco Judicial Center in New Port Richey for the west side, or the Dade City courthouse for east Pasco.
Yes. Under Fla. Stat. § 732.901 and Pasco’s e-filing order (AO 2023-040 PA-CIR), the original will must be deposited with the Clerk within 10 days of learning of the death — the e-filed scan is not enough.
No — probate is heard by circuit judges with mixed civil/probate dockets, which is why complete first filings and consent to magistrate review (AO 2019-056) often move matters faster.
Summary administration can conclude in a few months; formal administration typically runs longer. See our guide to Florida probate timelines or our Pasco County probate practice page.
Zoecklein Law is headquartered in Brandon, serving Pasco from New Port Richey to Dade City. Free consultation.
This guide is general information about court procedure, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Administrative orders change; always confirm the current order on the circuit’s website before relying on it.