What is guardianship you may ask? In the state of Florida, where I practice as an attorney (thankfully not in that arena!) it is the mechanism by which a person is appointed to make financial and healthcare decisions for someone who has been deemed incapable of doing so themselves.
Let me tell you… it is something to be avoided! Not only do you lose complete control over your assets and your healthcare decisions, but the process results in lining the pockets of facilities, professional guardians, their attorneys and other attorneys involved in the process. If you hated attorneys before you will hate them even more if you enter into this arena. Believe me. 
It is a process bogged down with inefficiencies where very little can be accomplished.
I am happy that I do not practice in this area. Today however, I had a little window to peer into this unseemly practice area. Yikes! I wish I’d never looked. I cannot unsee what I saw.
How did I find myself in this situation? You may wonder since I do my very best to stay out of court, representing only trust in a state planning, probate and corporate clients. Well, let me tell you. This is how it happened,
The proceedings of a guardianship touched on one of my probate estates as the ward passed away, and my client was appointed the personal representative to handle the estate. How naïve I was to believe that at that point the words monies should be tendered to the personal representative to administer on behalf of the beneficiaries. Oh no, no no that is not how the process goes laughed, the guardians, Attorney and the judge who retained $50,000 of the wards monies in the guardianship account to go towards the guardian and her attorney who already received vast sums.
 I used to be a commercial litigator, but I had not been in the courtroom for sometime still, I do not consider myself naïve however I was ill equipped for the judges, complete refusal to listen to my pointing out potentially fraudulent activity in the guardianship and excessive attorneys fees. court. We were told that this is just the way guardianship goes and the attorney would indeed be entitled to the $80,000 of attorneys fees or so for working on the case representing the guardian for two years. This does not even include the fees paid to the guardian herself. Oh yes, it is a lucrative business to be a professional Professional Guardian, and even more so to represent one as an attorney.
Let me be clear … the work of a guardian’s attorney appears to consist of mainly compiling bank statements and cancel checks and attaching them to a form pleading. Not high-tech, not brain surgery, certainly not rocket science. But apparently worth top dollar. 
While we were there, we had the opportunity to observe another matter where apparently the ward was trapped in a psychiatric facility often referred to as a “rehab facility or, as many would refer to it, a nursing home, who was unhappy with her guardian, and had an attorney appointed for her. So now we’re talking about layers and layers of people “working” on this matter or should I say parasitically attaching to the ward’s funds. The ward’s attorney could not even contact the ward as the facility refused to grant access to her. Read more about that in my related post upcoming on mental health facilities.…
Suffice it to say that you want to do your best to avoid getting into this arena. Believe me, you don’t want any part of this! When I asked the judge when the guardianship would be wrapped up she laughed at me. It was akin to the star of A Christmas Story when he asked Santa for the Red Rider BB Gun and Santa said you’ll shoot your eye out kid and shoved him down the spire with his boot.
Let me tell you… if I were to tell a client that they would have to wait several months for a project I can tell you they would not remain a client very long.
I am so happy I don’t have to be part of that system with all of its inefficiencies and fraud. There are many articles out there that detail the fraud involved in professional guardianships in the state of Florida that you can read about. It has been in the news quite a bit.
How to avoid? Stay physically and mentally fit, have at least one trusted person in your life and make an estate plan.
Notes From Real Life 