What is a durable power of attorney in Florida? Can it allow me to avoid a guardianship in Florida? Should I create a Florida estate plan in case I become incompetent? What is the difference between a guardianship and a power of attorney?
Do you have a Florida estate plan? Did you know that meeting with an estate planning attorney can help you to avoid a Palm Beach guardianship that you do not desire ? Communities Digital News(CDN) recently reported about a former army ranger who says his parents forced him into an unnecessary guardianship. He says he was not mentally incompetent and was able to care for himself. Could you imagine not being allowed to make decisions for yourself?
What is a guardianship? When is a guardianship necessary? Can a Palm Beach guardianship help to protect my mother who has dementia? Guardianships are not the only means of helping an incapacitated person in the State of Florida. In fact, Florida Guardianship Law actually requires the use of the least restrictive alternative to protect persons incapable of caring for themselves and managing their financial affairs whenever possible. What does this mean? What is an acceptable less restrictive alternative to a guardianship?
Back in September of 2013, Florida’s 2nd District Court of Appeal issued its opinion in the Searle v. Bent case, 137 So. 3d 1028 (Fla. 2nd DCA, 2013). This involved a guardianship of an adult, actually someone’s mother, not a minor child. Many people think of a guardianship as being a legal proceeding for a minor, but that is certainly not always the case. In Florida, guardianships for adults are very common. And, for good or for ill, so is guardianship litigation.
In 2009, Palm Beach Clerk Sharon Bock implemented a guardianship fraud program and hotline. This program was created “to allow anonymous tips on waste and financial fraud in court-appointed guardianships over the elderly, minor children and other wards.” Palm Beach Country Clerk & Comptroller’s Office has had major success with the program. This September, the program was recognized at the 4th World Congress on Adult Guardianship, an international recognition.
On Presidential Election Day, the right to vote is an important one. However, certain people may find themselves being denied at the polls. What is a Palm Beach Guardianship? What rights can the Florida guardianship court take away from me? Can I get my right to vote back if it has been taken away in a guardianship matter? How can a Florida probate litigator help me? When is a competency hearing necessary?
On October 24,2016 Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Jorge Labarga released information about a Supreme Court Workgroup. This Workgroup will focus on guardianship issues in Florida’s courts. People are living longer and longer. Therefore, guardianship litigation in Florida is booming! As guardianships ” are increasing in number and complexity” a workgroup to study guardianships seems necessary.
Florida’s 3rd District Court of Appeal ruled, October 26, 2016, that the estate planning attorney for a deceased client must testify in an undue influence trial and will contest. The attorney objected to answering questions about his client disinheriting children. The trial court ordered him to testify.