POLK’S POPULATION BOOM LEADS TO NEW FAMILY DIVISION FOR 10TH CIRCUIT

• The 10th Judicial Court in Polk County is adding a sixth division to handle family law cases.
• This new division was created to address population growth, particularly in the county's northeast region.
• The change aims to reduce judicial caseloads and decrease wait times for hearings.

A newly created sixth division within the 10th Judicial Court system will consolidate the family law cases into a new family law section, Chief Judge James Yancey has ordered.

The order signed by Yancey on June 29 will create a Polk County Family Section 16 and reassign cases.

Family cases consist of domestic violence, dissolution of marriage, name changes, paternity, stepparent adoption, child support, modification of final divorce orders or enforcement of the rulings in those cases.

The family division of the 10th Judicial Circuit in Polk County is presently divided into five sections; and the number of family law cases has increased significantly, especially in the past 10 years, Yancey said. 

“Due to significant growth in the Northeast area of Polk County, and in order to promote judicial economy, maximize judicial resources, and provide for the prompt and efficient administration of justice in this circuit, the new family law section will be assigned to the Northeast Government Center,” Yancey's order said.

With the addition of a new division for family law cases, the average caseload per judge will be about 700 to 800. Until the establishment of the division, the average caseload was 800 to 900 per judge.

Further, the addition of the sixth family judge should also reduce the wait time to get a hearing.

Chief judge's order addressing family law cases is retroactive

The effective date will be May 15, 2026, subject to the reassignment of cases based on zip codes. The specific zip codes will be included in a later administrative order.

The Polk County Clerk of the Court shall reassign open and reopened cases from the existing five Polk County family law sections to the new division.

Reassignment will be based on date and the petitioner's zip code provided to the clerk by the family law administrative judge.

New family law division will relieve workload for judges

The number of cases reassigned from each of the existing five sections will be as equal as possible to give the new division 50 to 75 fewer cases than the existing five sections.

The judge previously assigned to the cases scheduled between May 15 and July 5 will continue to hold and preside over already scheduled hearings and trials, the order said. The judges will also schedule and hear all matters that can be heard on the section’s calendar prior to July 6, as well as take judicial action on those cases.

The judicial assistant for the newly assigned judge will schedule hearings to be heard on or after July 6.

Trials and hearings in the new Family Division that have been scheduled on or after July 6 will be held at the Northeast Government Center at 200 Government Center Blvd. in Lake Alfred.  

All family law petitions must include the petitioner’s residential address (including the zip code). If the petitioner’s residential address is confidential or exempt, a “Notice of Confidential Information within Court Filing” must be filed.

The 10^th Judicial Circuit Court also has a separate pro se division that handles family cases in which neither side is represented by an attorney. Dependency cases (child abuse and neglect) are handled in the Juvenile Division, separate and apart from family, and are not part of a Unified Family Court that some other circuits have in place.