Miami Guardianships Subject of Report from Florida’s New Times

The south Florida publication that blew the lid on PED’s and Alex Rodriquez has brought to you more investigative news:  this time concerning Miami guardianships.  When a guardianship is created in Palm Beach, Ft. Lauderdale or Miami’s probate courts for an adult, the court appointed guardian is given great power & authority.  The Florida guardian = fiduciary who is charged with protecting the rights of the person who needs assistance.  Take a look at some characteristics of Palm Beach guardianships which you may not have known about; and consider reading The New Times article on guardianships, whose link is at the end of this Palm Beach probate commentary.

Palm Beach Guardianships

• A petition for incapacity is filed when someone with an “interest” in a person believes that the person needs some help and maybe can’t manage everything on their own
• A petition for appointment of a guardian is also filed seeking the appointment of a fiduciary to be in charge of the person
• You can have a “full” or complete “plenary” guardianship or a limited guardianship
• The guardianship may be over the personal rights of the person and or the property of the person
• Palm Beach probate judges take guardianships very seriously because they take away some rights from people who are in need of assistance –or are incapacitated

Guardianships for Adults

• The person who is alleged to be incapacitated is called the AIP or alleged incapacitated person
• The probate court judge will appoint a lawyer to protect the AIP and will also appoint an examining committee to study or evaluate the AIP
• If the AIP is found to need some assistance, he or she becomes known as a “Ward”
• The lawyer and the guardian and the examining committee is paid for from the Ward’s money
• If there is a Palm Beach trust or power of attorney (POA) you may not need a guardianship
• You can read Florida’s Guardianship Law in Chapter 744 of the Florida Statutes online for free
• The Florida Probate Rules apply

Family Members in Palm Beach Guardianships

• Palm Beach Guardianship Courts do the best to weigh the interests of family members who are interested in the welfare of the Ward
• Family members can be heard and have a voice in the Palm Beach guardianship
• When family members don’t agree on who should be the guardian or other matters, this is referred to as “contested guardianships” which means you have Probate Litigation and a Guardianship Trial, sometimes referred to as the hearing.

Here is the link to The New Times Story on Florida Guardianships:

http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/riptide/2014/05/why_you_should_care_about_guar.php