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Eighth Judicial Circuit Administrative Order 7.02 (Procedures for Settlements Requiring Court Approval): 85 operative paragraphs verbatim from the order as the circuit publishes it.
Eighth Judicial Circuit — all counties of the circuit. Administrative orders are amended and rescinded by later orders; the circuit's own index controls (the index lists it as a current instrument on 2026-09-14). Procedural information only; not legal advice.
• It is therefore ORDERED that the following procedures shall be observed for court approval of settlements: I. CLAIMS OF MINORS OR INCAPACITATED PERSONS 1. • Definition - Any claim being made by or on behalf of a minor or incapacitated person, where court approval is sought. • 2. Petition - The petition for approval of a settlement shall conform with the requirements set forth in Florida Probate Rule 5.636, and shall also address: a. Liability, causation, and damages and how these affect the settlement to be approved. • The information in the petition must be in sufficient detail to allow the court to make its own assessment of these issues so that the court can determine whether the settlement is in the best interest of the claimant, b. The policy limits of the insurance policies against which the claim is being made or the financial position of the defendant/tortfeasor(s) against whom the claim was made, if applicable. • 3. Documentation - The petitioner shall provide, as attachments to the petition: a. Medical reports which support the petitioner’s allegation that the proposed settlement is in the claimant’s best interest; b. The accident or incident report, if applicable; c. The declaration of policy limits of insurance, if applicable; d. The proposed closing statement, which sets forth all actual costs and any charges to be assessed against the settlement proceeds. • 4. Notice - The petitioner shall give notice to the parties set forth below, if applicable: a. Next of kin as defined in §744.102(12), Fla. Stat, including both parents, if the claimant is a minor, regardless of whether the minor claimant resides with only one parent or only one parent has custody. • If a parent cannot be located, then notice may be given by publication, after the petitioner has filed an affidavit of diligent search, setting out with certainty the steps taken by the petitioner to locate the parent(s). • Such items may include, but are not limited to any petitioner’s claim for mileage, lost wages, transportation expenses, medical bills, non-medical sundries alleged to be necessary for the care of the claimant, or other claims made by the petitioner. • 6. Order - The order authorizing the settlement shall set forth the gross amount of the settlement being approved and how the settlement proceeds are distributed, including the net amount to go to the claimant and to whom the claimant’s net settlement shall be paid, including directions for protecting those assets, if the assets are not to be paid to a guardian or other fiduciary. • If the assets are to be placed in a restricted guardianship account the settlement proceeds shall be delivered to the attorney for the guardian and the attorney shall assist the guardian in depositing the proceeds in the appropriate restricted account pursuant to directions from the guardianship court. • If the settlement is a structured annuity or the proceeds of the settlement will be used to fund a structured annuity with a present value of $15,000 or greater, the court will not approve the settlement until a guardianship is established. • Definition: Any claim being made by or on behalf of an estate, where court approval is sought. • Petition - A petition to approve settlement of a wrongful death claim or other claim of a decedent shall be verified and executed by the personal representative or, if there is no personal representative, by a majority of the survivors, and shall include the following information: a. The nature of the cause of action. b. The proportionate liabilities of the parties. c. The available insurance coverage, or if none, a discussion of the financial status of the alleged tortfeasor. d. The names and addresses of all potential claimants who have claims arising out of the same cause of action, including, but not limited to, the estate and any survivors. e. The amount of attorneys fees being claimed and the method used to determine that fee. f. Any other costs intended to be paid from the settlement proceeds. g. A proposed distribution of the proceeds, making specific apportionments amongst the claimants. • 3. Estate’s Claim - Estates have their own claims pursuant to the wrongful death statute for medical or funeral expenses and net accumulations. • If the petitioner is of the opinion that the estate does not have a claim, the petitioner must set forth with particularity the reasons why the estate had no claim for medical or funeral expenses or net accumulations, i.e., if the decedent was elderly and had retired the estate may have no claim for net accumulations. • 4. Calculation - To arrive at each claimant’s relative portion of the settlement, add all of the potential claims of the claimants for a total. • Calculate the percent of each claimant’s claim in proportion to the total claimed damages and apply those percentages to the settlement amount. • Notice - Informal notice of the petition, as authorized by the Probate Code, shall be given to all interested persons as defined in 731.201(21), including creditors of the estate, and to the survivors entitled to make a claim under the wrongful death statute. • 6. Closing Statement - The petitioner shall attach a copy of the proposed closing statement and shall set forth on said statement all actual costs and any charges to be assessed against the settlement proceeds and the apportionment of the proposed distribution in substantially the following format: Payee/Category Description Dollar Amount Subtotals Totals Settlement Offer $ amount of settlement Attorney’s Fees method of determining fee $ fee Attorney’s Costs broken down by item $ cost Total to Attorney $ combined fees and costs Net to Be Apportioned Net to Survivor #1 percent assigned to #1 $ to #1 Net to Survivor #2 percent assigned to #2 $ to #2 Net to Estate percent assigned to estate $ to estate Total Distribution $ total distributed This Order replaces Administrative Order No. 7.02(v2) entitled “Procedures for Settlements Requiring Court Approval” entered on January 30, 2015.
It is therefore ORDERED that the following procedures shall be observed for court approval of settlements: I. CLAIMS OF MINORS OR INCAPACITATED PERSONS 1.
Reviewer note: Composed 2026-09-14 from BenchPath's custody copy (file 83ffb2765b83.pdf; 333,385 bytes, 5 page(s), native text layer): the index lists it as a current instrument on 2026-09-14 (https://circuit8.org/eighth-judicial-circuit-court/administrative-orders/); the operative paragraphs after the ORDERED marker are quoted whole, whitespace normalised only; signature block, page markers and stamps dropped. Effective date from the order's own date line where present, else the index date. [Rebuilt 2026-09-27: the published text had been cut at line and page breaks (85 fragments, many beginning or ending mid-sentence); it now publishes the 19 whole sentences those fragments belong to, verbatim from the rule's own source (custody (sha256-matched, 1 document)), with printed page markers and running headers removed.]
9 verbatim requirements from 4th Circuit Administrative Order 1997-10.
6 verbatim requirements from 4th Circuit Administrative Order 1997-13.