House Bill 0719e1

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                          CS/HBs 719, 1223 & 1439, First Engrossed



  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to guardians; creating s.

  3         744.1085, F.S.; providing for the regulation of

  4         professional guardians; providing for a bond;

  5         providing educational requirements; authorizing

  6         issuance of a blanket fiduciary bond; amending

  7         s. 744.3135, F.S.; requiring criminal history

  8         and credit check; providing for waiver;

  9         amending s. 744.3145, F.S.; excluding

10         professional guardians from certain educational

11         requirements; amending s. 744.3675, F.S.;

12         revising language with respect to the annual

13         guardianship plan; amending s. 744.454, F.S.;

14         forbidding professional guardian from

15         purchasing property or borrowing money from his

16         ward; providing an effective date.

17

18  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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20         Section 1.  Section 744.1085, Florida Statutes, is

21  created to read:

22         744.1085  Regulation of professional guardians;

23  application; bond required; educational requirements;

24  audits.--

25         (1)  The provisions of this section are in addition to

26  and supplemental to any other provision of the Florida

27  Guardianship Law, except s. 744.3145.

28         (2)  Each professional guardian who files a petition

29  for appointment after October 1, 1997, shall post a blanket

30  fiduciary bond with the clerk of the circuit court in the

31  county in which the guardian's primary place of business is


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                          CS/HBs 719, 1223 & 1439, First Engrossed



  1  located.  The guardian shall provide proof of the fiduciary

  2  bond to the clerks of each additional circuit court in which

  3  he or she is serving as a professional guardian. The bond

  4  shall be maintained by the guardian in an amount not less than

  5  $50,000.  The bond must cover all wards for whom the guardian

  6  has been appointed at any given time.  The liability of the

  7  provider of the bond is limited to the face amount of the

  8  bond, regardless of the number of wards for whom the

  9  professional guardian has been appointed.  The act or

10  omissions of each employee of a professional guardian who has

11  direct contact with the ward or access to the ward's assets is

12  covered by the terms of such bond.  The bond must be payable

13  to the Governor of the State of Florida and his or her

14  successors in office and conditioned on the faithful

15  performance of all duties by the guardian.  In form, the bond

16  must be joint and several.  The bond is in addition to any

17  bonds required under s. 744.351.  This subsection does not

18  apply to any attorney who is licensed to practice law in this

19  state and who is in good standing, to any financial

20  institution as defined in s. 744.309(4), or a public guardian.

21  The expenses incurred to satisfy the bonding requirements

22  prescribed in this section may not be paid with the assets of

23  any ward.

24         (3)  Each professional guardian defined in s.

25  744.102(15), on October 1, 1997, must receive a minimum of 40

26  hours of instruction and training by October 1, 1998, or

27  within 1 year after becoming a professional guardian,

28  whichever occurs later.  Each professional guardian must

29  receive a minimum of 16 hours of continuing education every 2

30  calendar years after the year in which the initial 40-hour

31  educational requirement is met.  The instruction and education


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                          CS/HBs 719, 1223 & 1439, First Engrossed



  1  must be completed through a course approved by the chief judge

  2  of the circuit court and taught by a court-approved

  3  organization.  The expenses incurred to satisfy the

  4  educational requirements prescribed in this section may not be

  5  paid with the assets of any ward. This subsection does not

  6  apply to any attorney who is licensed to practice law in this

  7  state.

  8         Section 2.  Section 744.3135, Florida Statutes, is

  9  amended to read:

10         744.3135  Credit and criminal investigation.--The court

11  may require a prospective guardian and shall require a

12  professional guardian, to submit, at his or her own expense,

13  to an investigation of the prospective guardian's credit

14  history and or an investigatory check by the National Crime

15  Information Center and the Florida Crime Information Center

16  systems by means of fingerprint checks by the Department of

17  Law Enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation or

18  both.  The court may order these investigations if it deems it

19  necessary.  The court shall waive the credit and criminal

20  investigation for a guardian who is the spouse or child of the

21  ward.

22         Section 3.  Subsection (6) is added to section

23  744.3145, Florida Statutes, to read:

24         744.3145  Guardian education requirements.--

25         (6)  The provisions of this section do not apply to

26  professional guardians.

27         Section 4.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section

28  744.3675, Florida Statutes, 1996 Supplement, is amended to

29  read:

30         744.3675  Annual guardianship plan.--Each guardian of

31  the person must file with the court an annual guardianship


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                          CS/HBs 719, 1223 & 1439, First Engrossed



  1  plan which updates information about the condition of the

  2  ward.  The annual plan must specify the current needs of the

  3  ward and how those needs are proposed to be met in the coming

  4  year.

  5         (1)  Each plan must, if applicable, include:

  6         (b)  Information concerning the medical condition and

  7  needs of the ward, including:

  8         1.  A resume of any professional medical treatment

  9  given to the ward during the preceding year;

10         2.  The report of a physician who examined the ward no

11  more than 90 days before the beginning end of the applicable

12  reporting report period.  Such report must contain an

13  evaluation of the ward's condition and a statement of the

14  current level of capacity of the ward; and

15         3.  The plan for provision of medical, mental health,

16  and rehabilitative services in the coming year.

17         Section 5.  Section 744.454, Florida Statutes, 1996

18  Supplement, is amended to read:

19         744.454  Guardian forbidden to borrow or purchase;

20  exceptions.--A professional guardian may not purchase property

21  or borrow money from his or her ward. unless A guardian who is

22  not a professional guardian may do so if:

23         (1)  A court by written order authorizes the sale or

24  loan after a hearing to which interested persons were given

25  notice; or

26         (2)  The property is sold at public sale and the

27  guardian is a spouse, parent, child, brother, or sister of the

28  ward or a cotenant of the ward in the property to be sold.

29         Section 6.  This act shall take effect October 1, 1997.

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