Office of Public Guardian in Florida

The short answer: A public guardian makes personal and financial decisions for a Florida adult whom a court has found incapacitated, when the person cannot afford a private guardian and no family member or friend is willing and able to serve. Florida's Office of Public and Professional Guardians (OPPG), part of the Department of Elder Affairs, contracts with 15 local Offices of Public Guardian that cover all 67 counties. (Source: Florida Department of Elder Affairs.)

What Is the Office of Public and Professional Guardians?

The OPPG was created by state law within the Department of Elder Affairs. It appoints local public guardians and oversees all public and professional guardians in Florida: it sets their standards of practice, registers them, sets education requirements, and investigates complaints and disciplines guardians who break the rules. (Sources: Florida Statute 744.2001 and Elder Affairs.)

Contact: (850) 414-2381, OPPGinfo@elderaffairs.org, 4040 Esplanade Way, Tallahassee, FL 32399.

Who Qualifies for a Public Guardian?

Elder Affairs says a public guardian serves a person who:

• is indigent, without enough income or assets to pay a private guardian;
• has no friends or family willing or able to serve; and
• has been adjudicated incapacitated by a court under Chapter 744 of Florida Statutes, or is eligible for a guardian advocate. (Source: Elder Affairs.)

The law says a public guardian may serve only if no family member, friend, bank or corporation is willing and qualified, and that public guardians primarily serve people of limited financial means. While serving, the public guardian must keep looking for a family member or friend who could take over. (Source: Florida Statute 744.2007.) Public guardians serve adults of any age, not only seniors.

How a Public Guardian Is Appointed

1. Someone files a petition to determine incapacity in the circuit court of the county where the person lives.
2. The court has the person examined and holds a hearing. Only a judge can find a person incapacitated. (Source: Florida Statute 744.102.)
3. The court must consider alternatives first. No guardian may be appointed if a less restrictive option, such as a power of attorney, would meet the person's needs. (Source: Florida Statute 744.331.)
4. The court appoints a guardian. When no one else is willing and qualified and the person cannot pay, the court can appoint the local Office of Public Guardian, if it has room to take the case.

If you are worried that an older adult is being abused, neglected or exploited right now, do not wait for a guardianship: report it to the Florida Abuse Hotline at 1-800-962-2873.

Florida's 15 Local Offices of Public Guardian

Each office covers the counties listed. Some counties have more than one office. (Source: Elder Affairs list of Offices of Public Guardian.)

Public Guardian vs. Professional Guardian

A professional guardian is anyone who serves as guardian for three or more people who are not their relatives, usually for a fee paid from the ward's money. A public guardian is a state-contracted office that serves people who cannot pay, and it is treated as a professional guardian for regulation, education and registration. (Source: Florida Statute 744.102.) Professional guardians must register with the OPPG each year, carry a blanket fiduciary bond of at least $50,000, complete a 40-hour course and pass a state exam, and pass credit and fingerprint background checks. (Sources: Florida Statute 744.2002, 744.2003 and Elder Affairs.) You can look up a registered guardian on the OPPG page.

Alternatives to Guardianship

Guardianship takes away some or all of a person's rights, so it is a last resort. Planning ahead, while the person can still sign documents, usually avoids it. (Elder Affairs publishes a one-page alternatives to guardianship handout.)

• Durable power of attorney (Chapter 709): names an agent for money and property that stays in effect if the person loses capacity. It must be signed in front of two witnesses and a notary.
• Health care surrogate (Chapter 765): names someone to make medical decisions, signed in front of two adult witnesses. Without one, Florida law lets a spouse, adult child, parent or sibling make medical decisions in a set order.
• Guardian advocate (Section 393.12): for an adult with a developmental disability who can make some decisions but not others, without a finding of incapacity.
• Supported decision-making: family or friends help the person make their own choices. A guardianship petition must say whether the person uses this kind of help and why it is not enough. (Source: Florida Statute 744.3201.)

The Florida Senior Legal Helpline, 1-888-895-7873, gives free legal advice to people 60 and older who meet an income test, including on powers of attorney and guardianship.

Complaints About a Guardian

To complain that a professional or public guardian broke the state's standards, call the OPPG complaint hotline at 1-855-305-3030, email OPPGcomplaints@elderaffairs.org, or write to the Office of Public and Professional Guardians, Attn: Complaints, 4040 Esplanade Way, Tallahassee, FL 32399. (Source: Elder Affairs.) If the complaint is legally sufficient, the OPPG must start investigating within 10 business days and send initial findings within 45 days. Discipline can include more training, fines, or suspension or loss of registration. (Source: Florida Statute 744.2004.) Concerns about a family member serving as guardian go to the court that appointed them.

For other help, see senior and disabled services in Florida or find your county's Aging and Disability Resource Center.

Questions About Public Guardianship in Florida

Disclaimer: This guide is general information, not legal advice. Talk to a lawyer about a specific guardianship case.