Planning Ahead - Florida Developmental Disabilities Council

• Foreign Guardian (Section 744.306, F.S.). Florida recognizes guardianships fromother states, territories and countries. The guardian must file an authenticated orderof the appointment with the Clerk of the Court in the county where the wardresides.Plenary and Limited guardianships are the types usually used for persons who are disabled,elderly, mentally ill, or otherwise incapacitated. The process requires a petition for determiningincapacity, a hearing to determine the degree of incapacity which is based upon the reportsfrom three court appointed professionals who have evaluated the person, only one which mustbe an expert in the area of the disability. Members of this committee must not have known theincapacitated person. After an adjudication of incapacity another hearing is held to appoint aguardian.A FEW WORDS ABOUT THE PROCESSAny Florida resident over the age of eighteen, who is of sound mind and who has not beenconvicted of a felony, is eligible to serve as a guardian (or co-guardian), as is a non-profit corporationorganized for religious or charitable purposes. (For exceptions refer to ARC FloridaGuardianship Handbook or Chapter 744, F.S.).Each guardian is required to:• Receive basic training in how to function as a guardian or guardian advocate. Thistraining is provided at various sites. Training may be waived with sufficient evidencethat the guardian already has this knowledge;• File a guardianship report annually to include the guardianship plan and an accountingof assets (unless this accounting is waived by the court, which may occurif the court accepts the support plan in lieu of a guardianship report);• Develop and implement the annual guardianship plan, which must include detailson the current condition and needs of the ward and how the guardian proposes tomeet those needs;• Account annually to the court (unless waived by the court when the ward has noestate) on all receipts, disbursements, cash deposited in any institution, and propertyon hand at the end of the accounting period. When income is solely from governmentalbenefits or the person’s own earned income, the annual accounting maybe waived unless the ward’s financial situation changes.For both a guardian advocate (under Chapter 393, F.S.), or a guardian (under Chapter 744, F.S.),you will need an attorney. It is all right to shop for an attorney, both for fee per hour and in thearea of experience in this very specialized field. It is important if you wish to use the guardianadvocate process (Section 393.12, F.S.) to have an attorney familiar with this particular statuteand procedure. Most attorneys who have done guardianships use Chapter 744, which is moreappropriate for elderly people and children as well as total incompetency procedures for peoplewith other disabilities. Fewer attorneys have done limited guardianships under the GuardianAdvocate procedures. In some situations if the cost of the attorney is a problem, the local LegalAid Office or Legal Referral Service may be able to help.Chapter 8, Legal Ways of Protecting Rights41