Guardianship Informaton / Forms

• Overview - Probate Guardianship and Mental Health Division
• Administrative Orders and Legal Resources
• Fee Petitions
• Forms
• Frequently Asked Questions and Sample Report
• Initial and Annual Forms
• Professional Guardian

The following applies to Pinellas County:

Background Investigations of Proposed Guardians

Pursuant to Florida Statute 744.3135(1) and Administrative Order 2006-79 PA/PI CIR, all petitions for appointment of guardian(s), including petitions for appointment of successor guardian will be forwarded by the Clerk’s office to the Probate, Guardianship and Mental Health division of the Court for a criminal and credit (if appropriate) background investigation PRIOR to the appointment of the guardian. If the investigation results reveal discrepancies, a letter stating the discrepancies will be sent to the section judge, the attorney and the proposed guardian(s). The section judge will determine if further action, such as a hearing, is necessary.

Statewide Public Guardianship Office Registration:

Per Section 744.1085(9), Florida Statutes, “after July 1, 2004, the Court shall not appoint any professional guardian who has not met the requirements of this section and s. 744.1083.” Thus, a professional guardian cannot be appointed as guardian if not registered with the Statewide Public Guardian Office and a professional guardian may be required to show proof of current registration at the time of appointment or provide written proof of compliance at the time of the hearing.

If the Statewide Public Guardian Office removes or declines to register a professional guardian because of the professional guardian’s failure to timely file a renewal package or a complete package or due to other discrepancies the Court will allow the professional guardian to demonstrate their filing of the renewal package within thirty (30) days after the due date. If the renewal package is not filed after the thirty (30) day grace period, the Court may deny petitions for appointment and reduce the hourly rate of the professional guardian. The professional guardian is encouraged to keep the Court apprised of his/her registration status.

Guardian Fee Petitions:

There is an updated memo regarding guardian fee petitions and activity logs effective May 15, 2007. See attached memo.

The attached document lists notice and service requirements in Guardianships by subject matter with references to the Florida Statute and Rules and is an aid for attorneys and guardians to determine whether notice or service should be given to a party or interested person.

• Guardian Fee Memo
• Guardian Fee Pointers
• Petition for Guardian's Fees (fill in)
• Guardian Fee Changes Memo

Trusts:

As has been the Court’s procedure for the past several years, any petition for authorization to create a trust with guardianship funds should include a copy of the trust agreement and should allege that the trustee is willing to submit to the jurisdiction of the court.  In most cases, the Court prefers the trustee to be a different person or entity than the guardian.  However, petitions will be determined on a case by case basis.

The trustee is obligated to act according to the terms of the trust agreement and the order authorizing the trust.  As has been the Court’s policy, a trustee may be asked to submit to the Court’s jurisdiction and the guardian may be asked to submit a copy of the trust accounting for the Court’s review.

Initial and Annual Forms:

Please read the following before downloading the guardianship program. In addition to the operating instructions within the program, below are some instructions specific to Pasco and Pinellas County.The General Worksheet requests the information for the Uniform Case Number that Pasco and Pinellas County are not using as this time. However, please include the following information on the form.

As the Guardianship program includes calculations and drop down menus, we encourage all guardians to complete the forms on the computer.

• Download software for the Guardianship Accounting and Plan Forms
  (from the 17th Judicial Circuit page)
• Computer system minimum requirements for the Guardianship Program:
  • Second Edition of Windows 98 or NT and a Pentium class computer or better.
  • This program will NOT run on Macintosh unless you have a Windows emulator.

Computers and printers with the guardianship program on the hard drive are available for those without access to a computer or the internet at the following locations:

Although discouraged, guardians may file the guardianship forms without use of a computer. The forms are available at the law libraries for a fee. Additional instructions for use of the forms without a computer are attached to the forms.

Forms
pdf format and word As required by Administrative Order 2005-065 PA-CIR, in Pasco County electronic filing of documents shall be made via this link.
Annual Minor Plan Form	-
Annual Minor Physician’s Report Form	-
Department of Children and Family Services Release Form/Notice & Service Requirements - (Guardianship and Probate Summary)To be completed by the proposed guardian and attached to the petition for appointment.	-
Application for Appointment of Guardian	-
Criminal History Information Request Professional guardians and all employees of professional guardians who have a fiduciary duty must resubmit, at their own expense, to a level 1 background at least every 2 years after the date of their appointment. Forward this request with a check for $23.00 to the address on the form and file the results with the Clerk's office.	CHI Request Form
Guardianship checklist The forms are to be filed with the petition for appointment of guardian per Administrative Order 2009-036 PA/PI-CIR Nonprofessional Guardianship Checklist Professional Guardian Annual Checklist Professional Guardian Additional Appointment Checklist
	- - -
Instructions for Notice of Employees Form This form must be completed by each Guardian and filed with the Probate General Master’s Office	-
Notice of Employees of Professional Guardian Professional guardians must file yearly by January 31 and within 30 days of any change in employees.	-
Order Canceling Hearing	- (fill in)
Guardian Disaster Plans Administrative Order 2009-036 PA/PI-CIR signed on September 19, 2006 requires each initial plan filed after July 1, 2009 to include a disaster plan which sets forth the procedures and plans in place for the ward in the event an evacuation order or other emergency order is issued by federal, state, or local officials. The following will satisfy the above requirement: Hurricane Emergency Plan for Facility - Guide and contains information with which the guardian should be familiar. If the ward resides in a facility which has a written disaster plan, file a copy of the summary (1 or 2 pages) of the facility’s written disaster plan.   Guardianship Emergency Plan - If the ward resides outside of a facility or the facility does not have a written disaster plan, file a completed guardianship emergency plan.	-              -

Professional Guardian:

Professional Guardians: Professional Guardians must register with the Statewide Public Guardianship Office each calendar year by January 1. Please visit their website at http://elderaffairs.state.fl.us/english/public.html for forms and further information or call 850-414-2000. For professional guardian requirements visit their frequently asked questions.

Notice of Employees of Professional Guardian
Professional guardians must file yearly by January 31 and within 30 days of any change in employees. -

Administrative Orders and other legal resources:

• Probate and Guardianship Administrative Orders
• Administrative Order No. 2005-009
• Efiling Letter Judge W. Lowell Bray, Jr.

Credit Report Information:

Floridians are able to receive one free copy of their credit report per year through Annual Credit Report