Search Results: guardianship

According to a May 23, 2016 Forbes article, guardianships may not always be safe. What if the person who is appointed to be the guardian of your incapacitated mother is taking advantage of her, physically or financially? How do you know that the court appointed guardian of your father is going to work in the best interest of him? Guardianships are becoming more and more popular as people are living longer lives. Filing to be the guardian of your vulnerable mother with Alzheimer’s is definitely a way to insure that she is protected. The probate courts in Florida try to do what is best for the ward when appointing a guardian. However, sometimes, people become guardians for the wrong reasons. Furthermore, unfortunately, there have been cases of court appointed guardians financially exploiting and stealing from the ward.

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?