When the court is informed that a ward, protected person, and/or incapacitated person’s best interest would be served by transferring a guardianship and/or conservatorship case to another county within the State of Nebraska having concurrent jurisdiction pursuant to Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 30-2212, 30-2615, and 30-2629, the following procedures shall apply:

   (A) No transfer to another county may be made without a hearing and notice to all interested persons.

   (B) A motion for intrastate transfer shall be filed and set forth with specificity the basis upon which a transfer would serve the best interest of the ward, protected person, and/or incapacitated person.

   (C) The movant shall send the motion and a notice of the hearing to all interested persons along with a Notice of Right to Object Form.

   (D) After a hearing, the court of original jurisdiction shall make findings of fact setting forth how the best interest of the ward, protected person, and/or incapacitated person are met by way of transfer.

   (E) If the transferring court finds venue exists in the successor court and good cause is found to transfer, the court shall enter a provisional transfer of jurisdiction order.

   (F) The provisional transfer of jurisdiction order shall be sent to the presiding judge of the successor court. Thereafter the successor court shall have 14 days to either accept the transfer or deny the same, for lack of venue only, by written order. The acceptance or denial order shall be filed in the court records of the original jurisdiction court.

   (G) If an acceptance of transfer is filed, the original jurisdiction court shall enter an order of intrastate transfer.

   (H) The original court file shall be electronically transferred to the successor court, and the paper or microfilmed records shall be permanently maintained in the originating court.

   (I) The successor court shall maintain electronically certified copies of the transferred court file of all transferred cases. For purposes of certification, electronic documents shall be considered original documents.

   (J) All exhibits shall be sent to the successor court.

   (K) The original jurisdiction court shall maintain certified copies of all exhibits sent to the successor court at the time of transfer.

   (L) The successor court shall schedule a status review hearing within 30 days of transfer giving all interested persons notice of the new docket and page number, court address, and judge assigned to the case.

   (M) The successor court shall enter an order acknowledging receipt of the transferred case within the records of its own court with a certified copy sent to the transferring original jurisdiction court for completion of the intrastate transfer. The original jurisdiction court shall no longer retain jurisdiction of the proceedings once the successor court’s acknowledgment of jurisdiction has been docketed.

   (N) If the original court and proposed successor court fail to agree on transfer, the presiding judges of each court judicial district shall consult and resolve the manner in which the case shall thereafter proceed.

   (O) Until the case is accepted by the successor court, all proceedings shall remain in the court in which the proceedings were originally commenced.

§ 6-1443.02 adopted September 10, 2015; § 6-1443.02(D)-(F) and (H)-(O) amended February 19, 2020.