More date picker questions: empty values and filtering

[Trading_5_Talents]

Hopefully these are simple solutions

Setup:
I have a custom form that uses a date picker for a specific transaction end date, which should be left empty until the transaction actually ends. Then I’d like one list page to display all open transactions and a separate list for completed transactions.

Questions:

1. Is is possible to have the date picker default to an empty state?
2. If the input form defaults to a specific date, the “completed” list doesn’t find any “open” transactions - or am I incorrect? Is there a workaround, perhaps an open/close status that is automatically input?

Thanks for all the help!