(1) Each guardian of the property must file an annual accounting with the court.

(2) The annual accounting must include:

(a) A full and correct account of the receipts and disbursements of all of the ward’s property over which the guardian has control and a statement of the ward’s property on hand at the end of the accounting period. This paragraph does not apply to any property or any trust of which the ward is a beneficiary but which is not under the control or administration of the guardian.

(b) A copy of the annual or year-end statement of all of the ward’s cash accounts from each of the institutions where the cash is deposited.

(3) The guardian must obtain a receipt, canceled check, or other proof of payment for all expenditures and disbursements made on behalf of the ward. The guardian must preserve all evidence of payment, along with other substantiating papers, for a period of 3 years after his or her discharge. The receipts, proofs of payment, and substantiating papers need not be filed with the court but shall be made available for inspection and review at the time and place and before the persons as the court may order.

1(4) The guardian shall pay from the ward’s estate to the clerk of the circuit court a fee based upon the following graduated fee schedule, upon the filing of the annual financial return, for the auditing of the return:

(a) For estates with a value of $25,000 or less the clerk of the court may charge a fee of up to $20, from which the clerk shall remit $5 to the Department of Revenue for deposit into the General Revenue Fund.

(b) For estates with a value of more than $25,000 up to and including $100,000 the clerk of the court may charge a fee of up to $85, from which the clerk shall remit $10 to the Department of Revenue for deposit into the General Revenue Fund.

(c) For estates with a value of more than $100,000 up to and including $500,000 the clerk of the court may charge a fee of up to $170, from which the clerk shall remit $20 to the Department of Revenue for deposit into the General Revenue Fund.

(d) For estates with a value in excess of $500,000 the clerk of the court may charge a fee of up to $250, from which the clerk shall remit $25 to the Department of Revenue for deposit into the General Revenue Fund.

Upon petition by the guardian, the court may waive the auditing fee upon a showing of insufficient funds in the ward’s estate. Any guardian unable to pay the auditing fee may petition the court for a waiver of the fee. The court may waive the fee after it has reviewed the documentation filed by the guardian in support of the waiver.

(5) This section does not apply if the court determines that the ward receives income only from social security benefits and the guardian is the ward’s representative payee for the benefits.

History.—s. 52, ch. 89-96; ss. 35, 72, ch. 90-271; s. 1088, ch. 97-102; s. 116, ch. 2003-402; s. 13, ch. 2004-260; s. 78, ch. 2004-265; s. 139, ch. 2005-2; s. 17, ch. 2006-178; s. 41, ch. 2008-111; s. 27, ch. 2019-58.

1Note.—

A. Section 27, ch. 2019-58, amended subsection (4) “[e]ffective upon this act becoming a law and retroactive to July 1, 2008.”

B. Section 30, ch. 2019-58, provides that “[t]he amendments made by this act to ss. 27.52, 28.24, 28.2401, 28.241, 34.041, 45.035, 55.505, 61.14, 316.193, 318.14, 318.15, 318.18, 322.245, 327.35, 327.73, 379.401, 713.24, 721.83, 744.365, 744.3678, 766.104, and 938.05, Florida Statutes, are remedial and clarifying in nature and apply retroactively to July 1, 2008.”

C. Section 31, ch. 2019-58, provides that “[t]he amendments to the jurisdiction of a court made by this act shall apply with respect to the date of filing the cause of action, regardless of when the cause of action accrued.”