Guardian Advocacy Bootcamp

Guardian Advocacy Bootcamp You Can Do This! www.TheOrlandoLawGroup.com Maytel Sorondo Bonham Pamela Martini Advance Directives O Health Issues: O De...
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Guardian Advocacy Bootcamp You Can Do This! www.TheOrlandoLawGroup.com Maytel Sorondo Bonham Pamela Martini

Advance Directives O Health Issues: O Designation of Health Care Surrogate O Living Will O HIPAA Release O Determination of Pre-Need Guardian

O Everything Else: O Power of Attorney

Guardian Advocacy Florida Statutes 393.12 O Title XXIX Public Health, Chapter 393

Developmental Disabilities

O Developmental Disability (DD) is defined as “a

disorder or syndrome that is attributable to intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, autism, spina bifida, or Prader-Willi syndrome; that manifests before the age of 18; and that constitutes a substantial handicap that can reasonably be expected to continue indefinitely.”

Requirements O Person lacks ability to do some but not all of the

daily decision-making tasks O Proposed Guardian Advocate must be an adult over the age of 18 and a resident of Florida O Proposed Guardian Advocate must submit to a level 2 criminal background check under Florida Statute 744.3135 via live scan fingerprints O Proposed Guardian Advocate MUST have an attorney IF seeking to be a guardian of the property other than Social Security or other government benefits

Guardian Advocate Process

Petitioning Court for Appointment Application & Petition for Appointment Guardian Education & Background Check Filing Fee

Hearing with Judge Proposed Orders: Order Appointing Guardian and Letters of Guardian Advocacy

Plans Initial Plan Annual Plan with Physician Report

Steps for Guardian Advocacy Ninth Judicial Circuit Application for Proposed Guardian Advocate and Successor Guardian Advocacy O

* Form A and if necessary, Form B for Stand-by Guardian provides information on the proposed Guardian including education and work history

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IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE NINTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT, ORANGE COUNTY, FLORIDA PROBATE DIVISION IN RE: GUARDIAN ADVOCACY OF ________________________________, CASE NO. _______________________ O

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APPLICATION FOR APPOINTMENT AS GUARDIAN ADVOCATE O (FORM A)

Pursuant to Section 393.12 of the Florida Guardian Advocate Law, the undersigned submits this Application for Appointment as Guardian Advocate of ______________________________, (the person with a developmental disability) and submits the following information (whenever the space provided is insufficient, attach additional pages): 1. Name: ___________________________________________________________ 2. Age: _____________________________________________ 3. Residence Address: _________________________________________________ 4. Mailing Address: ___________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ 5. U.S. Citizen? Yes _______, No ________ 6. Employer’s Name and Address: _______________________________________ __________________________________________________________________

Petition for Guardian Advocate  This form requests information regarding your reasons for requesting appointment as Guardian Advocate.  This form asks for information about the person with a developmental disability and his or her capacity to make decisions.  Attach the medical records, school records, individual support plan, individual education plan, and any other professional reports, which document the condition and needs of the person with a developmental disability.  Form D PETITION FOR APPOINTMENT OF GUARDIAN ADVOCATE OF THE PERSON ONLY FORM D

Petitioner, __________________________________________________, alleges the following: 1. Petitioner’s residence is ______________________________________________ _______________________________, County of ______________________and Petitioner’s mailing address, if different, is: ______________________________ _________________________________________________________________. 2. Petitioner’s date of birth is ______________________________. 3. The name of the person in need of a Guardian Advocate due to a developmental disability is: ______________________________________________________. The nature of this person’s developmental disability is: ____________________ _________________________________________________________________.

Oath of Guardian Advocate, Designation and Acceptance of Resident Agent  This form is to ensure that the proposed Guardian Advocate will faithfully perform his or her duties if selected, and certifies that all the information presented to the Court in this proceeding is true.  This form designates the Resident Agent, the person who will receive service of process of notice of documents concerning the Guardian Advocate, if any. The Resident Agent must be a resident of the county where the court case is pending, pursuant to Florida Probate Rule 5.110.  Form F STATE OF FLORIDA COUNTY OF ORANGE

OATH OF GUARDIAN ADVOCATE, DESIGNATION OF RESIDENT AGENT & ACCEPTANCE FORM F

I, ____________________________________________ (Affiant), state under oath that: 1. I will faithfully perform the duties of Guardian Advocate(s) of the Person of _______________________________________ (the Ward), according to law and accept the Designation as Resident Agent. 2. My place of residence is _________________________________________________ ________________________ and post office address ____________________________ _______________________________________________________________________. ________________________________, Affiant – Resident Agent.

Application for Indigent Status This form is optional. It is only needed if the proposed Guardian Advocate cannot afford the court filing fees.  According to section 57.082, Florida Statutes, an applicant is indigent if the applicant’s income is equal to or below 200 percent of the then-current federal poverty guidelines prescribed for the size of the household of the applicant by the United States Department of Health and Human Services. If the proposed Guardian Advocate is found to be indigent, the court filing fees will be waived.  There is a presumption that the applicant is not indigent if the applicant owns, or has equity in, any intangible or tangible personal property or real property or the expectancy of an interest in any such property having a net equity value of $2,500 or more, excluding the value of the person’s homestead and one vehicle having a net value not exceeding $5,000.

Background Check Required O The Florida Department of Law Enforcement no

longer processes finger print cards for the purposes of completing the required background checks for guardians and guardian advocates. O Since April 1, 2012, ALL proposed guardians and guardian advocates must complete their background checks through a live scan service provider. The cost of the live scan service will vary. For Orange County, results must go to ORI: FL048094Z, each county has a different code.

GUARDIAN EDUCATION AND BACKGROUND CHECK REQUIREMENTS Pursuant to Florida Statutes 744.3135 and 744.3145, I, ___________________, the proposed guardian of _________________________________, was advised by my attorney of the requirements to submit to a criminal history background screening prior to appointment and attend the Guardian Education course given by Seniors First (407-297-9980), 5395 L. B. McLeod Road, Orlando, Florida, within four months of being appointed to serve as guardian. Under penalties of perjury, I declare that I have read the foregoing and the facts alleged are true, to the best of my knowledge and belief. Signed on ______________, 2016

By:_____________________________________ Proposed Guardian Advocate

Notice of Hearing O STEP TWO: Arrange for a hearing. O When all the necessary documents have been filed with

the Court, you should receive a call or letter from the Probate Clerk providing you with the case number, the name of the Judge assigned to the case, and the name of the attorney appointed to represent the person with a developmental disability. O After receiving the call from the Clerk, you must call the assigned Judge’s office to schedule a hearing. You must coordinate the hearing time with the appointed attorney for the person with a developmental disability and the Clerk’s office. O In some jurisdictions, the Probate Clerk may do all of this for you.

Proposed Orders O

STEP THREE: Attend the Hearing and bring proposed Orders

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Order Appointing Guardian Advocate O Complete this form prior to the hearing. You will be asked to provide this form to the Judge for his or her signature if you are appointed as Guardian Advocate. NOTE: The date this Order is signed by the Judge is the date that the Petitioner is appointed as Guardian Advocate. It will become necessary to keep track of this date to calculate all of the time periods in which to file further documents with the Court, as explained below.

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Letters of Guardian Advocacy O Complete this form prior to the hearing. You will be asked to provide this form to the Judge for his or her signature if you are appointed as Guardian Advocate. These Letters are the paperwork that the Guardian Advocate will need to produce when presenting him/herself as the appointed Guardian Advocate and when making decisions for the Ward. Keep the original of both forms in a safe location and carry copies when performing services for the Ward.

ORDER APPOINTING GUARDIAN ADVOCATE OF THE PERSON ONLY FORM H Upon consideration of the Petition for the Appointment of Guardian Advocate(s) of the Person, the Court finds that ______________________________________________, the person with a developmental disability, has a developmental disability of a nature which requires the appointment of a Guardian Advocate of the person based upon the following findings of fact and conclusions of law, as required by section 393.12(2) (a), Florida Statutes: 1. The nature and scope of the person’s lack of decision-making ability are: _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________ 2. The exact areas in which the person lacks decision-making ability to make informed decisions about care and treatment services or to meet the essential requirements for his or her physical health and safety are: _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. The specific legal disabilities to which the person with a developmental disability is subject to are: _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 4. The powers and duties of the Guardian Advocate are: (____) to determine residence; (____) to consent to medical, dental, and surgical care and treatment; (____) to make decisions about the social environment or other social aspects of the person with a developmental disability’s life (____) to act as representative payee of government benefits or to seek such benefits

LETTERS OF GUARDIAN ADVOCATE OF THE PERSON ONLY FORM I TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: WHEREAS, _____________________________________________________ has been appointed Guardian Advocate(s) of the Person, _______________________________________, a person with a developmental disability who lacks the decision-making capacity to do some, but not all, of the tasks necessary to take care of his/her person; and WHEREAS, the Guardian Advocate has taken and filed the prescribed oath and performed all other acts prerequisite to the issuance of Letters of Guardian Advocate of the Person; NOW, THEREFORE, I, the undersigned circuit judge, declare that ______________________________________________________ is duly qualified under the laws of the State of Florida to act as Guardian Advocate of the Person of ___________________________________ ______________________with full power to exercise the following powers and duties on behalf of the person with a developmental disability: (___) to determine residence; (___) to consent to medical, dental, and surgical care and treatment; (___) to make decisions about the social environment or other social aspects of the person with a developmental disability life; (___) to act as representative payee of government benefits or to seek such benefits.

Initial Plan O STEP FOUR: Submit the Initial Plan

File the Initial Plan with the Court within 60 days of appointment as Guardian Advocate. This form asks for information about how the Guardian Advocate plans to care for the Ward. Copies of the Initial Plan must also be sent to the Ward and the attorney appointed for the Ward.

INITIAL PLAN OF GUARDIAN ADVOCATE OF THE PERSON FORM J – 1 ____________________________________________________________, the Guardian Advocate of the person of ______________________________________________________ (the person with a developmental disability), who presently resides at _____________________________________________________________________________, submits the following plan as the Initial Guardian Advocate Report of this Guardian: 1. During the period beginning __________________________________________, and ending _________________________________________________, the Guardian Advocate proposes the following plan for the benefit of the person with a developmental disability, which is based upon the Order Appointing a Guardian Advocate: a. Medical, mental or personal care services to be provided for the welfare of the Ward:

b.

Social and personal services to be provided for the welfare of the Ward:

c.

Place and kind of residential setting best suited for the needs of the Ward:

Annual Plan STEP FIVE: File an Annual Plan with Court each year. File Annual Plan with the Court each year within 90 days of the anniversary date of the appointment as Guardian Advocate. O This form is mandatory and must be filed each year within 90 days from the anniversary of appointment as Guardian Advocate. O This report must include information concerning the residence of the Ward, the medical and mental health conditions of the Ward, the treatment and rehabilitation needs of the Ward, and the social condition of the Ward. O Each plan must also address the issue of restoration of rights to the Ward as to whether restoration of any rights which were removed from the Ward would be appropriate. O You must attach a report from the treating physician of the person with a developmental disability regarding the person’s most recent physical and/or mental examination. This report must have been issued within 90 days of the filing of the report. O

ANNUAL GUARDIAN ADVOCATE REPORT ANNUAL GUARDIAN ADVOCATE PLAN OF GUARDIAN OF PERSON FORM S I, _____________________________, the Guardian Advocates of the person of Joshua Manuel Hernandez submit the following plan as the Annual Guardianship Report of this guardian: The Annual Guardianship Plan for the period beginning __________and ending ______________, shall be as follows: The Ward’s address at the time of filing this plan is 2. During the preceding year, the Ward resided at (include dates, names, addresses and length of stay at each place): 3. The current residential setting (circle one) is or is not best suited for the current needs of the Ward. 4. Plans for ensuring that the Ward is in the best residential setting to meet the Ward’s needs during the coming year are as follows: 5. Description of professional medical treatment given to the Ward during the preceding year: DATE

PROVIDER

6. Report of ________________________, a physician who examined the Ward no more than 90 days before the beginning of the report period is attached. Report contains an evaluation of the Ward’s condition and a statement of the current level of capacity of the Ward.

Annual Plan Schedule Section 744.367 Florida Statutes: Duty to file annual guardianship report Unless the court requires filing on a calendar-year basis, each guardian advocate of the person shall file with the court an annual guardianship plan at least 60 days, but no more than 90 days, before the last day of the anniversary month that the letters of the guardianship were signed, and the plan must cover the coming fiscal year, ending on the last day in such anniversary month. Schedule for Annual Plan and Accounting A B C D E Letters Regular All Reporting Plan Due Annual Signed Period Begins Period End Accounting Due January Feb 1st Jan 31st Dec 1st May 1st st Feb 28th Jan 1st Jun 1st February Mar 1 March Apr 1st Mar 31st Feb 1st Jul 1st April May 1st Apr 30th Mar 1st Aug 1st May June 1st May 31st Apr 1st Sept 1st June Jul 1st Jun 30th May 1st Oct 1st July Aug 1st Jul 31st Jun 1st Nov 1st August Sept 1st Aug 31st Jul 1st Dec 1st September Oct 1st Sept 30th Aug 1st Jan 1st October Nov 1st Oct 31st Sept 1st Feb 1st November Dec 1st Nov 30th Oct 1st Mar 1st December Jan 1st Dec 31st Nov 1st Apr 1st

Guardian Advocacy Maytel Sorondo Bonham Pamela Martini www.TheOrlandoLawGroup.com (407) 512-4394