In Florida, Does a Ward Have the Right to Marry?

Are you worried that your incapacitated father will marry his twenty year old girlfriend, leaving you nothing to inherit? Does your friend of parent have a court appointed guardian? Are they a Ward? Does a Ward have a right to marry in Palm Beach or Delray Beach? How can the right to marry be taken away? You may want to read Smith v. Smith.

Florida guardianship litigation seems to be exploding.Therefore, guardianship matters have become a very important part of our probate practice in West Palm Beach. Guardianships are taken very seriously by Florida probate courts, as we are talking about removing people’s rights. Probate Statute 744.3215 lists the rights of a person determined to be incapacitated. Is there any way to avoid a guardianship and having my rights taken from me? Florida guardianship and estate planning lawyers know that, with the help of a trusted estate planning attorney, you may be able to draft around a guardianship and properly avoid a guardianship.

Smith v. Smith

This was a March 2, 2016 opinion from the Fourth District Court of Appeal.This guardianship case dealt with a marriage between a person and a Ward.Here, a gentleman was declared to be incompetent or incapacitated.Court appointed counsel was appointed to represent him, and rights were taken away from him.In Florida, if someone is found to be incapacitated or incompetent, a probate court judge will determine what rights should be removed from a Ward and what rights a Ward may retain.Here, the Ward’s right to contract was “subject to court approval.”Therefore, the court removed his right to marry, which is very common in a Florida guardianship setting.The Ward and the appellant married without the court’s consent, and the guardian of the Ward petitioned to annul the marriage.The guardian was successful in his petition and the marriage was annulled. Click here to read the entire case.