Florida Guardianship Wars: who pays your Florida lawyer fees?

For good or for ill, the number of Florida guardianships which are contested or litigated in Palm Beach County, Florida and Broward County, Florida are exploding. Yes, Florida guardianship trials are increasing.  Probate lawsuits over who will take care of someone, who will make someone’s most personal decisions, and who will control one’s property, are increasing.  Florida guardianships are not just handling issues of who should make decisions over someone’s health, personal rights and property, but probate courts and guardianship courts from Palm Beach Gardens to Ft. Lauderdale are now judging the “fights” between family members, heirs and advisors of the person who is, may, or may not, be in need of a Florida guardian.  Guardian lawyers from Parkland to Palm Beach know that guardianship courts and guardianship lawsuits are serious business.  After all, a guardianship matter, or a petition to determine capacity (or incapacity) of an “alleged incapacitated person” is a probate court proceeding asking to take away, or limit, someone’s most personal, human and civil rights.  Often, family members, or advisors or others, will ask a probate court or a guardianship court to put them in charge of a Florida resident’s property.  That means that someone — a family member, an heir, an advisor, girlfriend or boyfriend, second or third wife or second or third husband– may control millions.   If someone has a $5 Million mansion in Boca Raton, you might control it.  A $10 Million brokerage account at a Palm Beach bank? You might get to spend it.  A $4 Million joint bank account in Weston?  You may decide whether it stays “joint” or whether it’s used to pay bills.  Important, tough decisions for a probate judge in a guardianship court to make.  Luckily, many Broward County probate judges, Palm Beach probate judges and probate lawyers and guardianship lawyers (as well as elder law attorneys) are familiar with the vast number of issues which people must confront when dealing with a Florida guardianship.  So, what you have, perhaps far too often, is children “fighting” each other over who will control mom or dad.  ….or adult children in  a far away state, “fighting” a girlfriend, boyfriend, misfit, mistress, lover or neighbor over who will control mom or dad’s money.  So, who pays all those guardianship lawyers for all this fighting?  Don’t assume that who ever is appointed guardian gets to use mom or dad’s money to fund the “guardianship war.”  Probate judges are increasingly scrutinizing where your Florida guardianship lawyer fees are paid from : at least for the initial “battle.”   Clearly, after a guardianship court appoints a guardian, that Florida guardian may hire a lawyer and have that guardianship lawyer paid for from mom or dad’s funds.  But before you get there, be cautious.  Any Florida guardianship dispute or Florida guardianship litigation should include a very thorough understanding of guardianship attorney fees and incapacity hearing attorneys fees:  and who may, or shall, pay them.  You might be surprised.  Advocate hard.  Litigate smart.