Florida Guardianship Litigation: Who Can Contract for Legal Counsel?

Are you involved in a West Palm Beach guardianship? Are you facing a guardianship hearing in Orlando? Do you need an experienced Palm Beach litigation lawyer? Has your right to contract been taken away from you in a guardianship proceeding? If you are facing an incapacity proceeding, but have not yet been determined to be incompetent, can you hire your own Florida lawyer? You may want to read a recent First DCA opinion, Campbell v. Campbell.

In this Florida appeal, the court cites a second DCA opinion, which states that ” a person is presumed competent to contract unless incompetency is established by due process of law.” This means that a person has a right to hire their own lawyer at any time unless it has been determined, by a probate judge, that they are not competent to do so. Does this mean that a person facing an incapacity hearing, who has not yet been deemed incompetent, can hire a West Palm Beach guardianship lawyer? Yes! A person can hire a Florida litigator unless it is proven that the person is ” incapacitated with respect to the exercise of her right to contract and engage counsel.” To read the entire opinion, click here.