Do you have a Delray Beach relative who is currently held in guardianship in South Florida? Have you filed a verified complaint alleging misconduct? You may be able to halt a payment of fees that would be taken from the guardianship estate. Check out what happened in the Indiana Appeals case In re Guardianship of N.R. decided May 8, 2015.
If you have been following the news lately you know about an inheritance controversy brewing over Bobbi Kristina Brown’s inheritance from her mother Whitney Houston. Have you heard about the guardianship filing on behalf of Bobby Brown? What did he file for guardianshipof? The answer may surprise you.
Trying to “fight” the Florida guardian’s lawyers on his or her attorneys fees for the Florida guardianship under the Florida Guardianship Code or what others simply refer to as the Florida Probate Code? Do you know what is required for a successful fee hearing on probate attorneys fees in aPalm Beach Guardianship case? Consider reading this March 31, 2015 Florida guardianship case on guardian lawyer fees which went to Florida’s appeals court, the 1st District Court of Appeal.
As you may have heard Tallahassee seems set on overhauling Florida’s guardianship laws well Miami-Dade has that same spirit as they have just implemented a new system for appointing guardians to oversee those deemed incapacitated. What is new about the system? Does it change how to file for guardianship? What about if you plan on filing as the guardian of a loved one, will this new registry system create roadblocks for you?
Florida has an aging population and planning for incapacity is an important aspect of any estate plan. What will happen if you do not have a health care surrogate ? Who do you think makes those decisions for you? Your spouse, your kids, your parents? The short answer is it depends and its not something that should be left up to chance as illustrated by the tragic case of Terry Schiavo about ten years ago dealing with incapacity and lack of preparation. Unfortunately this is not an uncommon case, it is just a well known example of poorly planned estates or lack thereof that tell heirs nothing about what to do in the event of incapacitation.
Unfortunately I have had more than one blog about the many failings of the Florida Guardianship system. From being under funded to the resultant being understaffed and making poor judgments, there is some light at the end of the tunnel. Earlier this month I mentioned several proposed bills in the Florida Legislate. Well today I am happy to mention the specifics of one of these cases and a few ways its going to help a tragic case you may have read about if you are in Sarasota. Julie Ferguson still owes about 5,000 dollars to Florida attorneys she hired to unsuccessfully secure guardianship of her 80 year old mother, Marise London. Her sister is a convicted felon who tried to get durable power of attorney from the older woman who lives in Sarasota Florida most agree this could have led to a complete liquidation of assets. Instead of getting the guardianship that she legally requested, London’s daily life is now managed by professional guardians according to a Florida probate decision issued in 2013. Now a multi million dollar company is a guardian for this poor woman’s mother and she is still paying attorneys for results she did not get. To this day she is still fighting, is there any hope for Ms. Ferguson and her mother, maybe. The Florida Senate is currently discussing a bill endorsed by committee vote, last week to provide new protections for elderly Floridians who end up under a guardian supervision because of mental illness or incapacitate! Experts says […]
Palm Beach Guardianships of parents, adults and grandparents seem to be, for good or for ill, a growth area. Filing for plenary guardianships Florida appears to be on the rise. Adult children often seek to either protect a parent or loved one by filing a guardianship petition in the probate Palm Beach, or they seek to control mom or dad and their money. If you are involved in a guardianship Delray Beach of your mom or dad in Palm Beach or Florida, you may want to read this new guardianship legislation. Florida Senate bill 1226, an act relating to guardianship; (March, 2015).
Involved in a Palm Beach guardianship matter? Did a guardian get appointed but you want the guardian removed? Then you need to read this March 18, 2015 guardianship appeal opinion from the West Palm BeachFlorida appeals court which rules on probate & guardianship appeals, including the removal of a Palm Beach guardian.
Guardianship in Florida is a mechanism to protect those who are not mentally or physically able to take care of themselves. I have blogged previously about some of the various failings of the Florida guardianship system. A case out of the Fifth District in California shows these issues appear throughout the country. A woman lost her appeal to have a probate court’s order struck which appointed another woman as guardian of her daughter.
Florida Guardianship was on the minds of many as the Sarasota Herald has just put out a rather troubling piece. EntitledElder Guardianship: A well-oiled machine the report outlines how Florida is pretty good at getting you a guardian and not so good at ensuring you are actually guarded. The report broke my heart as so much of it was spot on as you will soon see.