Probate Applications - Electronic Filing in Ontario

[@JS-ok4dx]

I am a process server and thoroughly enjoy your videos, thank you for the great resource! Since COVID, Superior Court clerks (at least in London, ON) have been denying in-person filing of documents, instead requesting that the documents be e-filed. Some clerks will scan the filed documents into the court FRANC system if the document is only a few pages, but denying in-person filing seems like a huge violation and burden on private citizens, especially for self-reps that may not have a computer. In addition, endorsement volumes and continuing records are no longer being updated in court files but instead are only on the court computer system, making scanning of court files more difficult and expensive, charging a dollar per page. Often clerks will just print off the needed document if it isn’t a huge document. But lawyers and self-reps preparing for trial may need scans of entire files with multiple extensions and this also seems to me to be overly burdensome on a private citizen. The courts are extremely behind at scanning files into the electronic court system and because of this there are still many advantages to filing in-person, but it seems like the courts are doing everything in their power to eliminate in-person filing and eventually I assume issuing. I’d love to see a video or hear You Counsel’s opinion on this topic in the comments. Thanks again for this valuable resource and when I’m finished with my private investigators course I will definitely be signing up for a You Counsel course!

[@YouCounsel]

I don't have much data on this issue to properly provide an opinion. Anecdotally, I understand that new court processes are not working out smoothly. I agree with your comments regarding overly burdensome requirements on private citizen with limited means.