Rule 9.090.Captioning Filings in Probate and Protective Proceedings
Current through August 1, 2026 · Last verified September 12, 2026
Full Text of Rule 9.090
Plain-English Summary
A probate file is organized around a person rather than a plaintiff and a defendant, so its caption works differently from a civil complaint. This rule fixes what the caption must show in each kind of filing.
Every probate filing names the decedent. Every filing in a protective proceeding names the protective proceeding or the respondent. That much keeps documents matched to the right file in a court handling many estates at once.
Contested matters need more. A filing in a contested matter inside a probate or protective proceeding must also contain the names and roles of the parties seeking relief and the parties against whom relief is sought. The rule prints an example to show the shape: an estate caption for a deceased person, with a claimant on one side and the personal representative on the other, under a title naming the relief requested.
Frequently Asked Questions
What must a probate caption contain?
The name of the decedent. That is the anchor for every filing in the estate, and it belongs in the caption whether the document is routine or contested.
How is a caption in a protective proceeding different?
It must contain the name of the protective proceeding or the respondent rather than a decedent. The rest of the rule applies the same way once a matter inside that proceeding becomes contested.
What extra information does a contested matter require?
The names and roles of the parties seeking relief and the parties against whom relief is sought. Naming the people is not enough; the caption has to say what each one is in the dispute, such as claimant or personal representative.
Does a dispute inside an estate get its own separate case caption?
The example in the rule shows the estate caption at the top with the contested parties set out beneath it. The dispute is captioned inside the estate rather than restyled as a stand-alone civil case.
Which filings count as contested matters?
The rule does not define the term. It speaks of a filing in a contested matter in a probate or protective proceeding, and the example it gives is a claimant's request for summary determination directed at a personal representative.