County & Court GPS
Washington County family court
Fourteenth Judicial Circuit. Procedure notes below come from BenchPath verified sources — every card carries its citation, confidence level, and last-verified date.
Before you file here
- Confirm venue — this county is the right place for the case
- Confirm the current official forms at flcourts.gov
- Check signature / notary requirements per form
- Pick the correct e-filing case category on the portal
- Handle confidential information (SSNs, minors) per rule
- Note the filing fee — or the fee-waiver application
Before you appear here
- Confirm date, time, location — and Zoom vs. in person
- Check the assigned judge/division instructions below
- Confirm how evidence must be submitted for hearings
- Ask whether a proposed order is expected, and in what format
- Confirm courtesy-copy requirements
- Build the exhibit and witness lists in Hearing Prep
Uncontested in Washington
Agreed on the terms? The path runs through this courthouse.
The qualifier reads your answers, the Assembly Line organizes the agreement, the Packet Composer names the official forms, and the tracker follows the clerk's acceptance loop — all county-aware. Filing fees are verified with the Washington clerk (this platform never types a fee it can't source), and the division's published practice above controls hearing logistics.
Florida law generally bars entry of a final judgment of dissolution until at least 20 days after the petition is filed (§ 61.19, Fla. Stat.); a court may act sooner only on the statute's required showing. Clerk and court processing add county-varying time on top.
Judge & Division Playbook
Who hears family cases here — and their published practice
A playbook is published practice — calendars, conferral, order formats — with its citation and verification date. FamilyLawGPS does not and will not predict judicial outcomes.
Washington County Court
Colby Peel
county_judge
No judge-specific procedural notes verified yet — the division instructions on the official circuit site control.
Named in procedure notes
Elijah Smiley
- Fourteenth Cir. — Judge Elijah Smiley: HearingsFourteenth Judicial Circuit, Standing Civil Case Management Order: Establishing General Case Track Deadlines; Standing Civil Case Management Order: Establishing Streamlined Case Track Deadlines (pp. 3) — captured and sha256-hashed 2026-07-24
Named in procedure notes
James J. Goodman
- Fourteenth Cir. — Judge James J. Goodman: HearingsFourteenth Judicial Circuit, Bay County Rules Related to Discovery Matters; Bay County Procedures Civil Division; Standing Civil Case Management Order: Establishing General Case Track Deadlines; Standing Civil Case Management Order: Establishing Streamlined Case Track Deadlines (pp. 2, 3, 1, 6, 8) — captured and sha256-hashed 2026-07-24
- Fourteenth Cir. — Judge James J. Goodman: Remote appearancesFourteenth Judicial Circuit, Bay County Rules Related to Discovery Matters; Bay County Procedures Civil Division; Order Granting Motion to Withdraw; Uniform Order Setting Cause for Trial and Pre-Trial Conference with Pre-Trial Conference Attachments (pp. 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8) — captured and sha256-hashed 2026-07-24
Named in procedure notes
Jarred H. Patterson
- Fourteenth Cir. — Judge Jarred H. Patterson: HearingsFourteenth Judicial Circuit, Administrative Procedures - Civil; Administrative Procedures - Family Law (pp. 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 11, 1) — captured and sha256-hashed 2026-07-24
- Fourteenth Cir. — Judge Jarred H. Patterson: Remote appearancesFourteenth Judicial Circuit, Administrative Procedures - Civil; Administrative Procedures - Family Law (pp. 1, 7, 3, 5) — captured and sha256-hashed 2026-07-24
Named in procedure notes
Shalla Jefcoat
- Fourteenth Cir. — Judge Shalla Jefcoat: HearingsFourteenth Judicial Circuit, Administrative Procedures for Judge Jefcoat (pp. 1, 2, 3, 4, 7) — captured and sha256-hashed 2026-07-24
Named in procedure notes
William S. Henry
- Fourteenth Cir. — Judge William S. Henry: HearingsFourteenth Judicial Circuit, Click HERE for Judge Henry's Administrative Procedures; Click HERE for Judge Henry's Streamlined Case Track Standing Civil Case Management Order; Click HERE for Judge Henry's General Case Track Standing Civil Case Management Order (pp. 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 9, 15, 16, 17, 18) — captured and sha256-hashed 2026-07-24
- Fourteenth Cir. — Judge William S. Henry: Remote appearancesFourteenth Judicial Circuit, Click HERE for Judge Henry's Administrative Procedures (pp. 1, 2, 5, 9, 16, 18, 21) — captured and sha256-hashed 2026-07-24
Court procedure notes
Verified local intelligence
Court procedure data from BenchPath, compiled from official public court sources.
Administrative OrdersFourteenth Judicial Circuit
14th Cir. — 20250309163124_Family-Medical-Leave-Act-FMLA-Poster — You do not have to share a medical diagnosis but must provide enough
3 verbatim requirements from 20250309163124_Family-Medical-Leave-Act-FMLA-Poster.
Court procedures change without notice. Verify urgent deadlines or unusual requirements with the court, the clerk, or a Florida attorney. If a specific order in your case says otherwise, that order controls over any county, division, or judge default shown here.
Administrative OrdersFourteenth Judicial Circuit
14th Cir. — 20262901172709_Judge-J-Patterson-Family-Law-Procedures-Copy — Administrative Procedures for
14 verbatim requirements from 20262901172709_Judge-J-Patterson-Family-Law-Procedures-Copy.
Court procedures change without notice. Verify urgent deadlines or unusual requirements with the court, the clerk, or a Florida attorney. If a specific order in your case says otherwise, that order controls over any county, division, or judge default shown here.
Service
E-Service of Pleadings and Documents — Fla. R. Gen. Prac. & Jud. Admin. 2.516
Service of pleadings and documents after the initial pleading is made by e-mail — in practice through the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal's e-service feature — to the designated service addresses on file.
Court procedures change without notice. Verify urgent deadlines or unusual requirements with the court, the clerk, or a Florida attorney. If a specific order in your case says otherwise, that order controls over any county, division, or judge default shown here.
Emergency Motions
Domestic Violence Injunctions: Ex Parte Temporary Relief and Prompt Final Hearing — Fla. Fam. L. R. P. 12.610
A DV injunction petition is reviewed promptly; the court may issue a temporary injunction ex parte, and when it does, a full evidentiary hearing is generally set within 15 days. There is no filing fee.
Court procedures change without notice. Verify urgent deadlines or unusual requirements with the court, the clerk, or a Florida attorney. If a specific order in your case says otherwise, that order controls over any county, division, or judge default shown here.
E-Filing
E-Filing Through the Statewide Portal — Florida Courts E-Filing Portal
Florida attorneys must file court documents electronically through the statewide Florida Courts E-Filing Portal (myflcourtaccess.com). Self-represented litigants may e-file through the same portal. Local circuits layer their own formatting and routing quirks on top.
Court procedures change without notice. Verify urgent deadlines or unusual requirements with the court, the clerk, or a Florida attorney. If a specific order in your case says otherwise, that order controls over any county, division, or judge default shown here.
Case Management
Mandatory Disclosure in Family Cases — Fla. Fam. L. R. P. 12.285
Parties in dissolution and most family financial cases must exchange a financial affidavit and specified financial documents within 45 days of service of the initial pleading, file a certificate of compliance, and supplement as circumstances change.
Court procedures change without notice. Verify urgent deadlines or unusual requirements with the court, the clerk, or a Florida attorney. If a specific order in your case says otherwise, that order controls over any county, division, or judge default shown here.
Special Set HearingsWilliam S. Henry · Bay
Fourteenth Cir. — Judge William S. Henry: Hearings
31 verbatim requirements on hearings.
Court procedures change without notice. Verify urgent deadlines or unusual requirements with the court, the clerk, or a Florida attorney. If a specific order in your case says otherwise, that order controls over any county, division, or judge default shown here.
Remote / Zoom HearingsWilliam S. Henry · Bay
Fourteenth Cir. — Judge William S. Henry: Remote appearances
25 verbatim requirements on remote appearances.
Court procedures change without notice. Verify urgent deadlines or unusual requirements with the court, the clerk, or a Florida attorney. If a specific order in your case says otherwise, that order controls over any county, division, or judge default shown here.
Special Set HearingsElijah Smiley · Bay
Fourteenth Cir. — Judge Elijah Smiley: Hearings
2 verbatim requirements on hearings.
Court procedures change without notice. Verify urgent deadlines or unusual requirements with the court, the clerk, or a Florida attorney. If a specific order in your case says otherwise, that order controls over any county, division, or judge default shown here.
Special Set HearingsJames J. Goodman · Bay
Fourteenth Cir. — Judge James J. Goodman: Hearings
16 verbatim requirements on hearings.
Court procedures change without notice. Verify urgent deadlines or unusual requirements with the court, the clerk, or a Florida attorney. If a specific order in your case says otherwise, that order controls over any county, division, or judge default shown here.
Remote / Zoom HearingsJames J. Goodman · Bay
Fourteenth Cir. — Judge James J. Goodman: Remote appearances
26 verbatim requirements on remote appearances.
Court procedures change without notice. Verify urgent deadlines or unusual requirements with the court, the clerk, or a Florida attorney. If a specific order in your case says otherwise, that order controls over any county, division, or judge default shown here.
Special Set HearingsJarred H. Patterson · Bay
Fourteenth Cir. — Judge Jarred H. Patterson: Hearings
20 verbatim requirements on hearings.
Court procedures change without notice. Verify urgent deadlines or unusual requirements with the court, the clerk, or a Florida attorney. If a specific order in your case says otherwise, that order controls over any county, division, or judge default shown here.
Remote / Zoom HearingsJarred H. Patterson · Bay
Fourteenth Cir. — Judge Jarred H. Patterson: Remote appearances
25 verbatim requirements on remote appearances.
Court procedures change without notice. Verify urgent deadlines or unusual requirements with the court, the clerk, or a Florida attorney. If a specific order in your case says otherwise, that order controls over any county, division, or judge default shown here.
Special Set HearingsShalla Jefcoat · Bay
Fourteenth Cir. — Judge Shalla Jefcoat: Hearings
8 verbatim requirements on hearings.
Court procedures change without notice. Verify urgent deadlines or unusual requirements with the court, the clerk, or a Florida attorney. If a specific order in your case says otherwise, that order controls over any county, division, or judge default shown here.