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Niece Files For Guardianship of Uncle in Ft. Lauderdale: August 26, 2015 4th DCA guardianship appeal case

Uncategorized • Aug 27, 2015
post about Niece Files For Guardianship of Uncle in Ft. Lauderdale: August 26, 2015 4th DCA guardianship appeal case

An August 26, 2015 Palm Beach guardianship appeal deals with a Ft. Lauderdale guardianship which made its way to Florida’s 4th District Court of Appeal, which hears probate & guardianship appeals for Palm Beach and Broward Counties.  If you are involved with trying to get guardianship of your mother or father, or aunt or uncle, from Ft. Lauderdale to Boca Raton to Jupiter,  you may want to read this new opinion.  The Florida guardian appeals case is Adelman v. Elfenbein, 4D13-2446, issued August 26, 2015 and you can get a free copy by going to the “Opinions” section of the 4th DCA website.

Niece Tries to Get Guardianship in Broward County, Florida

  1. This is an appeal of a Broward County probate court order appointing a professional Florida guardian for the Ward
  2. The niece of an uncle filed for guardianship in Broward, Florida
  3. There was a hearing (or Florida guardianship trial) on the petition to determine the uncle’s capacity, or incapacity and the niece’s petition for appointment of plenary guardian
  4. What do you do if you want a guardianship in Florida?  You file those petitions in the probate court for the county where your uncle lives
  5. In other words, it sounds like the niece thought a complete or full guardianship of the uncle was necessary to help him and protect him
  6. The probate court agreed: a plenary guardianship Florida was appropriate, but…………

Is a Florida Guardianship Needed if There is a POA?

  1. The uncle had a Florida advanced directive or health care document
  2. In Florida if you have an estate plan which adequately addresses  your needs, and which is a lesser restrictive alternative to a guardianship, you don’t have to have a guardianship
  3. Why have a guardianship if you already have an estate plan in place which protects you and your money if you are incapacitated?
  4. Why not let your trustee of your revocable trust manage your money and pay your bills ?
  5. Why not let your Florida power of attorney assist with everything else?
  6. Why not have your appointed health care person or decision maker in Florida make your health care and medical decisions for you.
  7. So, do you really need a Florida guardianship if you have a power of attorney, Florida revocable living trust and health care documents already in place, written, perhaps by your Florida probate lawyer when you were competent and had capacity?

2015 Misc 048

Can I Re-Open The Florida Guardianship?

  1. What if after the guardianship was closed because of the POA, you don’t believe your uncle is getting good care from his POA or trustee or health care decision maker in Florida?
  2. Can you re-open the guardianship court to get a full time professional guardian Boca Raton appointed to be a guardian of your uncle?
  3. In this recent Florida guardianship case, that happened and a professional guardianwas appointed
  4. So, what about the POA and the trustee or the person making decisions for the Ward uncle according to his Florida estate plan?
  5. The Broward Probate Court orders determining incapacity and that a lesser restrictive alternative to a Florida guaridanship were not appealed. (in the original guardianship lawsuit)
  6. The order dismissing the guardianship because there was a lesser restrictive alternative to a Florida guardianship was not appealed and evidently, the court did not retain jurisdiction for any purpose
  7. Whe the Broward guardianship matter was dismissed and closed, the probate court LACKED JURISDICTION.  Period ….so, why was there a guardianship trial on thepetition to re open the guardianship and appoint a professional guardian to care for the uncle?
  8. The petition to re-open the guardianship was filed six months later after the probate court orders became FINAL
  9. What do you do if your uncle or aunto or parent suffers from dementia or Alzheimers and you are worried about their care or their money?
  10. So, if you have an issue with a power of attorney, or trustee of a revocable trust and the person like your mom dad or uncle or aunt is incapacitated or not competent, ask your probate litigation law firm Palm Beach County what your legal options are.
  11. Your probate litigator Florida will probably tell you to file a separate, new guardianship matter or civil action to address the alleged wrongs you complain of: if you have legal standing.