Key elements of Garcia\u2019s legislation are the requirements for:\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
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- Public guardians to be appointed on a rotating basis, to ensure due process for each ward to have a guardian selected fairly, without bias or conflict.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n
- The court to establish visitation rights of families, unless there is clear and convincing evidence that such visits would be harmful to the ward.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n
- A reevaluation of the rights of the ward to be conducted every three years, which would include an examination by the examining committee.\u00a0 Currently, the process for a ward to have their rights restored is cumbersome.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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<\/p>\nOn December 12, 2023, the Board of County Commissioners of Miami-Dade county passed a resolution<\/a> to urge the Legislature to enact Garcia\u2019s bill.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The requirements of these new bills echo the recommendations of the statewide guardianship improvement task force report sponsored by the Florida Clerks of Court Corporation. The top priority of the task force was the establishment of a statewide guardianship database to provide transparency across the state. The system is currently in testing and scheduled to launch April 2024.\u00a0 Other goals and objectives of the taskforce included standardization of forms to be used by guardians in reporting to the court and the establishment of a court monitor program for an independent review of the cases.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe guardianship program is broken and your proposed legislation takes an important step to fix it,\u201d Pinellas County Clerk of Courts Ken Burke, chair of the task force, said in a letter to Garcia and Harris.\u00a0 Burke acknowledges that other elements of the bill, such as the provisions for a jury trial for certain actions, and financial disclosures to the ward\u2019s beneficiaries, may encounter more resistance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On Friday, February 23, 2024, the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section of the Florida Bar Committee on Guardianship, Power of Attorney and Advance Directives met to discuss legislative and case law updates, and Senate Bill 48 was their first bill reviewed.\u00a0 The Committee discussed that they did not anticipate this bill proceeding for the current legislative period, although no formal progress was posted to the Senate website<\/a> after the bill\u2019s introduction, as of February 26.\u00a0 Guardianship reform bills have been presented nearly every one of the past five years, so if the Senate Bill 48 doesn\u2019t progress for 2024, citizens can anticipate similar proposals to follow in upcoming sessions.\u00a0Other recent guardianship reforms include the disclosure of criminal background checks of potential guardians and the creation of an Office of Public and Professional Guardians in 2016 to investigate complaints against guardians.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Should you have concerns about wards or their appointed guardians under a Collier County Guardianship, you may contact the Clerk’s Office of Inspector General<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n