If a #Florida resident dies before a #Florida guardianship is established, who pays the attorneys fees and costs ? In a very recent #Florida guardianship case decided a few days ago, Florida’s Court of Appeals for Charlotte County said that the #Florida estate does not.
In #Florida probate courts across the sunshine state, there is much #inheritance litigation and #probate lawsuits over bank accounts.
This is a very recent #Florida guardianship opinion issued by the #Palm Beach appeals court , sitting in #West Palm Beach, Florida. The #Palm Beach appeals court is known as the #Fourth District Court of Appeals.
In a #Florida appeals court opinion issued just days ago, three siblings sued their sister in a #Miami probate court over a #Florida revocable trust which the sister created for her father—-who was in a coma!
Last night , while most people from #Florida were busy watching the #2014 People’s Choice Awards, some #Florida probate litigators were reading recent opinions from #Florida guardianship courts. You probably had more fun with the #2014 People’s Choice Awards, and cheering for #Big Bang, #Castle, and #Beast and #Vampire Diaries. And, this morning, while you may be reading about #Cameron Diaz, or #Drea de Matteo coming back in her #Wendy Pane role on #Sons of Anarchy, there is some #Florida guardianship business of note.
Florida guardianship litigation is increasing. Are you involved in a contested guardianship dispute? In Florida, when a person is believed to be unable to handle his or her own affairs, a guardianship may be appropriate. Probate courts in Florida, from Stuart, Florida to Miami Dade County, Florida, handle all guardianship matters and the guardianship judge often determines what personal rights an incapacitated person is capable of exercising, and which rights they are not able to exercise.
Even the wealthy are not immune from family litigation, and guardianship fights. Florida courts are not alone in being the forum for fights over someone’s person and property. Guardianship litigation, or conservatorship litigation, is happening all the time. And now it’s happening involving radio personality and Scooby Doo voice Casey Kasem and his family.
For good or for ill, the number of Florida guardianships which are contested or litigated in Palm Beach County, Florida and Broward County, Florida are exploding. Yes, Florida guardianship trials are increasing. Probate lawsuits over who will take care of someone, who will make someone’s most personal decisions, and who will control one’s property, are increasing. Florida guardianships are not just handling issues of who should make decisions over someone’s health, personal rights and property, but probate courts and guardianship courts from Palm Beach Gardens to Ft. Lauderdale are now judging the “fights” between family members, heirs and advisors of the person who is, may, or may not, be in need of a Florida guardian.
For good or ill, guardianship litigation has exploded in South Florida. Probate Courts and probate judges in Broward County, Miami-Dade County and Palm Beach County, Florida preside over guardianship trials more than ever. Florida elder law lawyers and lawyers who assist senior citizens have seen their practices get bigger and their client list get longer. Now, probate lawyers and Florida lawyers who prepare wills and trusts in smaller communities like Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, and Aventura and Plantation are adding guardianship matters to their list of legal services which they provide.
In Florida, guardianship cases have exploded. Increasingly, more and more probate attorneys and trust and estate attorneys are dealing with guardianship matters. Will a court “take away” important civil and human rights of a person who is alleged to be incapacitated? Will a court appoint someone to manage the property of the person? Or is there a valid power of attorney, health care directive or surrogate, or revocable trust (living trust) to manage the person’s finances?