The Florida Senate

984.08  Attorney's fees.--

(1)  The court may appoint an attorney to represent a parent or legal guardian under this chapter only upon a finding that the parent or legal guardian is indigent.

(a)  The finding of indigence of any parent or legal guardian may be made by the court at any stage of the proceedings. Any parent or legal guardian claiming indigence shall file with the court an affidavit containing the factual information required in paragraphs (c) and (d).

(b)  A parent or legal guardian who is unable to pay for the services of an attorney without substantial hardship to self or family is indigent for the purposes of this chapter.

(c)  Before finding that a parent or legal guardian is indigent, the court shall determine whether any of the following facts exist, and the existence of any such fact creates a presumption that the parent or legal guardian is not indigent:

1.  The parent or legal guardian has no dependents and has a gross income exceeding $250 per week; or, the parent or legal guardian has dependents and has a gross income exceeding $250 per week plus $100 per week for each dependent.

2.  The parent or legal guardian owns cash in excess of $1,000.

3.  The parent or legal guardian has an interest exceeding $1,000 in value in a single motor vehicle as defined in s. 320.01

(d)  The court shall also consider the following circumstances before finding that a parent or legal guardian is indigent:

1.  The probable expense of being represented in the case.

2.  The parent's or legal guardian's ownership of, or equity in, any intangible or tangible personal property or real property or expectancy of an interest in any such property.

3.  The amount of debts the parent or legal guardian owes or might incur because of illness or other misfortunes within the family.

(2)  If, after the appointment of counsel for an indigent parent or legal guardian, it is determined that the parent or legal guardian is not indigent, the court has continuing jurisdiction to assess attorney's fees and costs against the parent or legal guardian, and order the payment thereof. When payment of attorney's fees or costs has been assessed and ordered by the court, there is hereby created a lien in the name of the county in which the legal assistance was rendered, enforceable as provided in subsection (3), upon all the property, both real and personal, of the parent or legal guardian who received the court-ordered appointed counsel under this chapter. The lien constitutes a claim against the parent or legal guardian and the parent's or legal guardian's estate in an amount to be determined by the court in which the legal assistance was rendered.

(3)(a)  The lien created for court-ordered payment of attorney's fees or costs under subsection (2) is enforceable upon all the property, both real and personal, of the parent or legal guardian who is being, or has been, represented by legal counsel appointed by the court in proceedings under this chapter. The lien constitutes a claim against the person and the estate of the parent or legal guardian, enforceable according to law, in an amount to be determined by the court in which the legal assistance was rendered.

(b)  Immediately after the issuance of an order for the payment of attorney's fees or costs, a judgment showing the name, the residential address, the date of birth, and either a physical description or the social security number of the parent or legal guardian must be filed for record in the office of the clerk of the circuit court in the county where the parent or legal guardian resides and in each county in which the parent or legal guardian then owns or later acquires any property. The judgment is enforceable on behalf of the county by the board of county commissioners of the county in which the legal assistance was rendered.

(c)  Instead of the procedure described in paragraphs (a) and (b), the court is authorized to require that the parent or legal guardian who has been represented by legal counsel appointed by the court in proceedings under this chapter execute a lien upon his or her real or personal property, presently owned or after-acquired, as security for the debt created by the court's order requiring payment of attorney's fees or costs. The lien must be recorded in the public records of the county at no charge by the clerk of the circuit court and is enforceable in the same manner as a mortgage.

(d)  The board of county commissioners of the county where the parent received the services of an appointed private legal counsel is authorized to enforce, satisfy, compromise, settle, subordinate, release, or otherwise dispose of any debt or lien imposed under this section. A parent, who has been ordered to pay attorney's fees or costs and who is not in willful default in the payment thereof, may, at any time, petition the court which entered the order for remission of the payment of attorney's fees or costs or of any unpaid portion thereof. If the court determines that payment of the amount due will impose manifest hardship on the parent or immediate family, the court may remit all or part of the amount due in attorney's fees or costs or may modify the method of payment.

(e)  The board of county commissioners of the county claiming the lien is authorized to contract with a collection agency for collection of such debts or liens, provided the fee for collection is on a contingent basis not to exceed 50 percent of the recovery. However, no fee may be paid to any collection agency by reason of foreclosure proceedings against real property or from the proceeds from the sale or other disposition of real property.

History.--s. 1, ch. 94-329; s. 5, ch. 95-267; s. 94, ch. 97-238; s. 138, ch. 2003-402.

Note.--Former s. 39.017.