This summary is not the rule. The rule text controls.
Here is the rule text you asked me to summarize:
Rule 8: Pre-trial Proceedings
8.1 Pre-trial conference. In any proceeding, the court may require a pre-trial conference. The purpose of such a conference is to consider:
(a) The simplification of issues;
(b) The necessity or desirability of amendments to the pleadings;
(c) The possibility of obtaining admissions of fact and of documents which will avoid unnecessary proof;
(d) The limitation of the number of expert witnesses;
(e) Such other matters as may aid in the disposition of the proceeding.
8.2 Pre-trial order. Following any pre-trial conference, the court may enter a pre-trial order. The pre-trial order shall control the subsequent course of the proceeding unless modified at the trial to prevent manifest injustice.
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Before a case goes to trial in probate court, a judge can call a meeting with all sides called a pre-trial conference. This meeting helps everyone get organized. The judge and the parties talk about what the case is really about, what facts they already agree on, and how many expert witnesses will be allowed to testify.
After the meeting, the judge can write up a pre-trial order that spells out what was decided. That order then becomes the roadmap for how the rest of the case will proceed. The only way to change it later is if following the order would be clearly unfair to someone.
