A measure working its way through the Florida Legislature would increase by thousands of dollars the filing fee for guardianship of an elderly or disabled adult.
The proposal (SB 1718, HB 5117) deals with court funding and would create new filing fees in probate cases that would range from $1,000 to $5,000, depending on the value of the estate of the person being protected.
Elder-law attorney Twyla Sketchley: "If the measure passes, it would greatly reduce the number of family members and friends able to act as guardians of vulnerable elders or disabled people. That person, out of their own pocket, to do a Good Samaritan act, would have to pay that astronomical filing fee just to protect their loved one.”
The increase in filing fees is linked to probate cases but includes all guardianship proceedings. In addition to the current fee of $280, the additional fees will be tied to the person’s estate. Depending on the value of the estate and whether the House or Senate version of the legislation prevails, the additional cost could range from $1,000, to as high as $5,000 if the person being cared for has a large estate.
LuMarie Polivka-West, chief of clinical services for the Florida Health Care Association, which represents the majority of the state’s nursing homes: “This would definitely be a barrier to persons who are in need of guardianship being able to access that right in the court.”
Sketchley said the bill will also negatively impact nursing homes and hospitals, which frequently must implement guardianship proceedings to get people to make health care decisions or pay bills for an incapacitated adult in long-term care.
Sketchley: “So those thousands of dollars in filing fees will be paid by those facility providers and like family and friends, I don’t think facility providers have the ability to pay what is the equivalent of at least a third of their monthly bill to institute a guardianship against an individual.”
Full Article and Source:
Higher Filing Fees Could Hit Guardians of Incapacitated Adults
The proposal (SB 1718, HB 5117) deals with court funding and would create new filing fees in probate cases that would range from $1,000 to $5,000, depending on the value of the estate of the person being protected.
Elder-law attorney Twyla Sketchley: "If the measure passes, it would greatly reduce the number of family members and friends able to act as guardians of vulnerable elders or disabled people. That person, out of their own pocket, to do a Good Samaritan act, would have to pay that astronomical filing fee just to protect their loved one.”
The increase in filing fees is linked to probate cases but includes all guardianship proceedings. In addition to the current fee of $280, the additional fees will be tied to the person’s estate. Depending on the value of the estate and whether the House or Senate version of the legislation prevails, the additional cost could range from $1,000, to as high as $5,000 if the person being cared for has a large estate.
LuMarie Polivka-West, chief of clinical services for the Florida Health Care Association, which represents the majority of the state’s nursing homes: “This would definitely be a barrier to persons who are in need of guardianship being able to access that right in the court.”
Sketchley said the bill will also negatively impact nursing homes and hospitals, which frequently must implement guardianship proceedings to get people to make health care decisions or pay bills for an incapacitated adult in long-term care.
Sketchley: “So those thousands of dollars in filing fees will be paid by those facility providers and like family and friends, I don’t think facility providers have the ability to pay what is the equivalent of at least a third of their monthly bill to institute a guardianship against an individual.”
Full Article and Source:
Higher Filing Fees Could Hit Guardians of Incapacitated Adults
7 comments:
Right - if this bill passes, say goodbye to family and friends and say hello to total strangers.
The lawyers are at it again.
Citizens of FL need to start dialing their phones.
Take a lesson from the folks in Canada!
Those who profit from the guardianship racket found another way to stake their claims - like the old west gold rush days.
They figured out how to further lock out the family and/or friends of the person needing assistance; they found a way to ensure guardianships will generate more $$$ for them; they found a way to bundle this racket up for themselves.
How did they do it?
"They" are a special interest group of thugs, excuse me professionals; they sent their lobbyists with bribes to the lawmakers to write the laws ....in their favor!!!
Imagine that! $$$$$, gifts, trips, wining and dining talks folks and we are paying the legislators salaries, yet they bow and bend over, again and again, for those who pay to play, those who carry the most clout and the bags of $$$$.
I wonder if the people in Florida have a clue as to what this really means?
Oh, boy, are they in for the surprise of their lives!
This is the first I've seen in writing that actually admits the growing relationship between nursing homes and guardianship.
Beware!
Another point of view:
Here's how they'll do it when a "professional guardian" and/or an attorney are petitioning for guardianship:
I can see it now....The Guardian will petition for guardianship and declare that the prospective ward is indigent, even though the ward has money, they will report that the estate could not be determined at the time of filing and the court will accept this determination.
Then once guardianship is approved, the estate will suddenly be found, indigency will be nullified and the new $1000-$5000 filing fee will be taken directly from the ward.
In this way the "professional guardian" doesn't have to come up with the fee before hand....out of their own pockets.
This is wrong and it's highway robbery.
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