Florida Senate - 2025 SB 1806 By Senator Yarborough 4-01166-25 20251806__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to guardianship of property; amending 3 s. 744.367, F.S.; requiring guardians of the property 4 to file quarterly, rather than annual, accounting 5 reports by specified dates; authorizing the court to 6 set a different quarterly schedule; requiring the 7 guardian to mail a copy of each quarterly accounting 8 to the wards next of kin; requiring the first 9 quarterly accounting period to end within a certain 10 timeframe after letters of guardianship are issued; 11 amending s. 744.3678, F.S.; requiring guardians of the 12 property to file quarterly, rather than annual, 13 accounting reports; requiring the guardian to mail a 14 copy of each quarterly accounting to the wards next 15 of kin; amending s. 744.3679, F.S.; authorizing 16 certain guardians to file each monthly statement of 17 the wards account from the wards financial 18 institution for the preceding quarter; amending s. 19 744.368, F.S.; conforming a provision to changes made 20 by the act; amending s. 744.381, F.S.; requiring the 21 court to appoint an appraiser to appraise the wards 22 property; requiring all documentation, including bids 23 submitted to purchase such property, from the 24 appraiser to be retained in the court file; amending 25 s. 744.444, F.S.; conforming a provision to changes 26 made by the act; amending s. 744.474, F.S.; requiring 27 the court to refer certain guardians to the Department 28 of Law Enforcement for criminal investigation; 29 amending s. 393.12, F.S.; conforming a provision to 30 changes made by the act; providing an effective date. 31 32 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 33 34 Section 1.Subsection (2), paragraph (a) of subsection (3), 35 and subsection (6) of section 744.367, Florida Statutes, are 36 amended to read: 37 744.367Duty to file annual guardianship report. 38 (2)Unless the court requires or authorizes filing on a 39 fiscal-year basis, Each guardian of the property shall file with 40 the court an annual accounting on a quarterly basis or before 41 April 1 of each year. The annual accounting must cover the 42 preceding 3 months and be filed on or before April 1, July 1, 43 October 1, and January 1 each year calendar year. If The court 44 may require a guardian of the property to file the accounting on 45 a different quarterly schedule, as long as the guardian is still 46 required to file accountings at least four times each year. The 47 guardian must mail a copy of each quarterly accounting to the 48 wards next of kin authorizes or directs filing on a fiscal-year 49 basis, the annual accounting must be filed on or before the 50 first day of the fourth month after the end of the fiscal year. 51 (3)(a)The annual guardianship report of a guardian of the 52 property must consist of each quarterly an annual accounting, 53 and the annual guardianship report of a guardian of the person 54 must consist of an annual guardianship plan. The annual 55 guardianship report of a guardian of the property and the annual 56 guardianship report of a guardian of the person must both 57 include a declaration of all remuneration received by the 58 guardian from any source for services rendered to or on behalf 59 of the ward. As used in this paragraph, the term remuneration 60 means any payment or other benefit made directly or indirectly, 61 overtly or covertly, or in cash or in kind to the guardian. 62 (6)Notwithstanding any other requirement of this section 63 or unless otherwise directed by the court, the guardian of the 64 property may file the first annual accounting on either a 65 fiscal-year or calendar-year basis. Unless the court directs 66 otherwise, the guardian shall notify the court as to the 67 guardians filing intention within 30 days from the date the 68 guardian was issued the letter of guardianship. all subsequent 69 annual accountings must be filed on the same accounting schedule 70 period as the first year of quarterly accountings annual 71 accounting unless the court authorizes or directs otherwise. The 72 first quarterly accounting period must end within 3 months 1 73 year after the end of the month in which the letters of 74 guardianship were issued to the guardian of the property. 75 Section 2.Subsections (1), (2), and (4) of section 76 744.3678, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 77 744.3678Quarterly Annual accounting. 78 (1)Each guardian of the property must file an annual 79 accounting with the court on a quarterly basis and mail a copy 80 of each quarterly accounting to the wards next of kin. 81 (2)The quarterly annual accounting must include: 82 (a)A full and correct account of the receipts and 83 disbursements of all of the wards property over which the 84 guardian has control and a statement of the wards property on 85 hand at the end of each the accounting period. This paragraph 86 does not apply to any property or any trust of which the ward is 87 a beneficiary but which is not under the control or 88 administration of the guardian. 89 (b)A copy of the statements annual or year-end statement 90 of all of the wards cash accounts from each of the institutions 91 where the cash is deposited. 92 (4)The guardian shall pay from the wards estate to the 93 clerk of the circuit court a fee based upon the following 94 graduated fee schedule, upon the filing of the quarterly 95 accounting annual financial return, for the auditing of the 96 quarterly accounting return: 97 (a)For estates with a value of $25,000 or less the clerk 98 of the court may charge a fee of up to $20, from which the clerk 99 shall remit $5 to the Department of Revenue for deposit into the 100 General Revenue Fund. 101 (b)For estates with a value of more than $25,000 up to and 102 including $100,000 the clerk of the court may charge a fee of up 103 to $85, from which the clerk shall remit $10 to the Department 104 of Revenue for deposit into the General Revenue Fund. 105 (c)For estates with a value of more than $100,000 up to 106 and including $500,000 the clerk of the court may charge a fee 107 of up to $170, from which the clerk shall remit $20 to the 108 Department of Revenue for deposit into the General Revenue Fund. 109 (d)For estates with a value in excess of $500,000 the 110 clerk of the court may charge a fee of up to $250, from which 111 the clerk shall remit $25 to the Department of Revenue for 112 deposit into the General Revenue Fund. 113 114 Upon petition by the guardian, the court may waive the auditing 115 fee upon a showing of insufficient funds in the wards estate. 116 Any guardian unable to pay the auditing fee may petition the 117 court for a waiver of the fee. The court may waive the fee after 118 it has reviewed the documentation filed by the guardian in 119 support of the waiver. 120 Section 3.Subsections (1) and (3) of section 744.3679, 121 Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 122 744.3679Simplified accounting procedures in certain 123 cases. 124 (1)In a guardianship of property, when all property of the 125 estate is in designated depositories under s. 69.031 and the 126 only transactions that occur in that account are interest 127 accrual, deposits from a settlement, or financial institution 128 service charges, the guardian may elect to file an accounting 129 consisting of both of the following: 130 (a)The original or a certified copy of each monthly 131 statement the year-end statement of the wards account from the 132 financial institution for the preceding quarter.; and 133 (b)A statement by the guardian under penalty of perjury 134 that the guardian has custody and control of the wards property 135 as shown in the monthly statements year-end statement. 136 (3)The guardian need not be represented by an attorney in 137 order to file the quarterly accountings annual accounting 138 allowed by subsection (1). 139 Section 4.Paragraph (f) of subsection (1) of section 140 744.368, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 141 744.368Responsibilities of the clerk of the circuit 142 court. 143 (1)In addition to the duty to serve as the custodian of 144 the guardianship files, the clerk shall review each initial and 145 annual guardianship report to ensure that it contains 146 information about the ward addressing, as appropriate: 147 (f)The initial verified inventory or the quarterly 148 accountings annual accounting. 149 Section 5.Section 744.381, Florida Statutes, is amended to 150 read: 151 744.381Appraisals.When The court must appoint an 152 appraiser deems it necessary, appraisers may be appointed to 153 appraise the property of the ward that is subject to the 154 guardianship. All documentation provided to the guardian by the 155 appraiser must be retained in the court file. If the property of 156 the ward is sold, all bids submitted to purchase such property 157 must be retained in the court file. 158 Section 6.Subsection (16) of section 744.444, Florida 159 Statutes, is amended to read: 160 744.444Power of guardian without court approval.Without 161 obtaining court approval, a plenary guardian of the property, or 162 a limited guardian of the property within the powers granted by 163 the order appointing the guardian or an approved annual or 164 amended guardianship report, may: 165 (16)Pay or reimburse costs incurred and reasonable fees or 166 compensation to persons, including attorneys, employed by the 167 guardian pursuant to subsection (13) from the assets of the 168 guardianship estate, subject to obtaining court approval of the 169 quarterly accountings annual accounting. 170 Section 7.Section 744.474, Florida Statutes, is amended to 171 read: 172 744.474Reasons for removal of guardian. 173 (1)A guardian may be removed for any of the following 174 reasons, and the removal is shall be in addition to any other 175 penalties prescribed by law: 176 (a)(1)Fraud in obtaining her or his appointment. 177 (b)(2)Failure to discharge her or his duties. 178 (c)(3)Abuse of her or his powers. 179 (d)(4)An incapacity or illness, including substance abuse, 180 which renders the guardian incapable of discharging her or his 181 duties. 182 (e)(5)Failure to comply with any order of the court. 183 (f)(6)Failure to return schedules of property sold or 184 accounts of sales of property or to produce and exhibit the 185 wards assets when so required. 186 (g)(7)The wasting, embezzlement, or other mismanagement of 187 the wards property. 188 (h)(8)Failure to give bond or security for any purpose 189 when required by the court or failure to file with the annual 190 guardianship plan the evidence required by s. 744.351 that the 191 sureties on her or his bond are alive and solvent. 192 (i)(9)Conviction of a felony. 193 (j)(10)Appointment of a receiver, trustee in bankruptcy, 194 or liquidator for any corporate guardian. 195 (k)(11)Development of a conflict of interest between the 196 ward and the guardian. 197 (l)(12)Having been found guilty of, regardless of 198 adjudication, or entered a plea of nolo contendere or guilty to, 199 any offense prohibited under s. 435.04 or similar statute of 200 another jurisdiction. 201 (m)(13)A material failure to comply with the guardianship 202 report by the guardian. 203 (n)(14)A failure to comply with the rules for timely 204 filing the initial and annual guardianship reports. 205 (o)(15)A failure to fulfill the guardianship education 206 requirements. 207 (p)(16)The improper management of the wards assets. 208 (q)(17)A material change in the wards financial 209 circumstances such that the guardian is no longer qualified to 210 manage the finances of the ward, or the previous degree of 211 management is no longer required. 212 (r)(18)After appointment, the guardian becomes a 213 disqualified person as set forth in s. 744.309(3). 214 (s)(19)Upon a showing by a person who did not receive 215 notice of the petition for adjudication of incapacity, when such 216 notice is required, or who is related to the ward within the 217 relationships specified for nonresident relatives in ss. 218 744.309(2) and 744.312(2) and who has not previously been 219 rejected by the court as a guardian that the current guardian is 220 not a family member and paragraph (t) subsection (20) applies. 221 (t)(20)Upon a showing that removal of the current guardian 222 is in the best interest of the ward. In determining whether a 223 guardian who is related by blood or marriage to the ward is to 224 be removed, there shall be a rebuttable presumption that the 225 guardian is acting in the best interests of the ward. 226 (u)(21)A bad faith failure to submit guardianship records 227 during the audit pursuant to s. 744.368. 228 (2)If the court removes a guardian who is an attorney 229 licensed by The Florida Bar based on paragraph (c), paragraph 230 (g), or paragraph (p), or upon a finding by the court that the 231 guardian is misappropriating the assets or property of the ward, 232 the court must refer the guardian to the Department of Law 233 Enforcement for criminal investigation. 234 Section 8.Subsection (10) of section 393.12, Florida 235 Statutes, is amended to read: 236 393.12Capacity; appointment of guardian advocate. 237 (10)POWERS AND DUTIES OF GUARDIAN ADVOCATE.A guardian 238 advocate for a person with a developmental disability shall be a 239 person or corporation qualified to act as guardian, with the 240 same powers, duties, and responsibilities required of a guardian 241 under chapter 744 or those defined by court order under this 242 section. However, a guardian advocate may not be required to 243 file a quarterly an annual accounting under s. 744.3678 if the 244 court determines that the person with a developmental disability 245 receives income only from Social Security benefits and the 246 guardian advocate is the persons representative payee for the 247 benefits. 248 Section 9.This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.