By the time someone calls about a parent being financially exploited, money is usually already gone. The question is whether more is about to leave and what can stop it. Jill on what happens when an exploitation call comes in: The first 48 hours matter because financial exploitation tends to escalate. The person doing it...
Guardianship
Most law firms talk about personal service. Most don’t actually deliver it. The structural reality of how mid-size and large firms staff cases makes that hard. Jill on how this firm is different: The economics of a typical law firm push work down the chain. Partners bring in matters. Associates do the bulk of the...
Families wait. That’s the answer. Jill has been doing this for a long time and the same pattern shows up in case after case. Something is clearly wrong — mom is signing things she doesn’t understand, the new boyfriend is moving money out of the joint account, the brother who lives nearby has started “managing”...
People come in expecting a probate proceeding. Contested guardianships are litigation. Real litigation, with depositions, motions, evidentiary hearings, and a trial. Jill on what the early days actually involve: The framework is §744.331, Fla. Stat. — the incapacity proceeding. Three examining committee members are appointed. Each one independently evaluates the alleged incapacitated person and files...
Incapacity planning can prevent a guardianship. Although I often write about estate planning and taxes, an essential part of our practice also concerns Guardianships. A court will appoint a Guardian of a person if the court determines them to be incapacitated, or “judicially determined to lack the capacity to manage at least some of the...