Opinion ID: 1751413
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Whether Heirs to a Ward's Estate Have Standing in a Proceeding Under Section 744.108, Florida Statutes (2006)

Text: We must next determine whether, under the analysis set out above, heirs of a ward's estate have standing in a proceeding under section 744.108 to challenge a petition for guardian's or attorney's fees. Section 744.108(6) states that a petition for fees or expenses may not be approved without prior notice to the guardian and to the ward, unless the ward is a minor or is totally incapacitated. Unlike rule 5.700(a), which addresses objections to guardianship reports and allows interested persons to file an objection to any part of a guardianship report, there is no specific guardianship rule that provides for notice of, or objections to, petitions for guardian's or attorney's fees beyond what is provided in section 744.108. However, rule 5.060, which applies to all guardianship and probate proceedings in this state, [10] including proceedings under section 744.108, provides: (a) Request. Any interested person who desires notice of proceedings in the estate of a decedent or ward may file a separate written request for notice of further proceedings, designating therein such person's residence and post office address. When such person's residence or post office address changes, a new designation of such change shall be filed in the proceedings. A person filing such request, or address change, shall also deliver a copy thereof to the clerk, personal representative or guardian, noting on the original the fact of mailing. (b) Notice and Copies. A party filing a request shall be served thereafter by the moving party with notice of further proceedings and with copies of subsequent pleadings and papers as long as the party is an interested person. (Emphasis supplied.) Thus, under rule 5.060, an interested person who files a request is entitled to notice of further proceedings and copies of all subsequent pleadings in the case. Although section 744.108 does not specifically require that an interested person receive notice, a person is nonetheless entitled to notice pursuant to rule 5.060 as long as the requirements of the rule have been satisfied and the trial court agrees that the person does in fact qualify as an interested person. The question is what are the criteria for determining who qualifies as an interested person. Both the Florida Guardianship Law and the Florida Probate Rules specify that the term interested person is to be accorded the definition contained in chapters 731-735, Florida Statutes, known as the Florida Probate Code. [11] The Florida Probate Code defines the term interested person as any person who may reasonably be expected to be affected by the outcome of the particular proceeding involved. In any proceeding affecting the estate or the rights of a beneficiary in the estate, the personal representative of the estate shall be deemed to be an interested person. In any proceeding affecting the expenses of the administration and obligations of the decedent's estate, or any claims described in s. 733.702(1), the trustee of a trust described in s. 733.707(3) is an interested person in the administration of the grantor's estate. The term does not include a beneficiary who has received complete distribution. The meaning, as it relates to particular persons, may vary from time to time and must be determined according to the particular purpose of, and matter involved in, any proceedings. § 731.201(21), Fla. Stat. (2006). Thus, unlike a ward, a guardian, or next of kin, who are specific persons occupying finite, statutorily defined roles, [12] the definition of interested person requires the trial court to evaluate the nature of both the proceeding and the interest asserted. In defining an interested person as any person who may reasonably be expected to be affected by the outcome of the proceeding, section 731.201(21) incorporates the general standing principles referred to above. And because the question of who is an interested person may vary as the circumstances of the guardianship change, we cannot provide strict guidelines for the lower courts to follow in deciding whether a party who receives notice of a petition for attorney's fees pursuant to a request made under rule 5.060 is a person who may reasonably be expected to be affected by the outcome of the . . . proceeding. § 731.201(21), Fla. Stat. Although we cannot provide specific criteria, we reject the bright-line rule adopted by the Third District in McGinnis that precludes an heir from participating in a proceeding for guardian's or attorney's fees. Implicit in the Third District's reasoning is that heirs of a ward should never be afforded standing to participate in proceedings for guardian's or attorney's fees because there are sufficient built-in procedural safeguards to protect the interests of the ward: [J]ust as it is obviously for the competent person to spend or misspend his assets as he pleases, so it is up to the guardianship estate, regulated by the guardian and the court, to do the same without the interference or concern with the totally non-altruistic wishes of the ward's relatives or legatees. 564 So.2d at 1144 n. 9 (emphasis supplied). We disagree. As the Fourth and Fifth Districts recognized in Bachinger and Jones, [c]ourts must scrupulously oversee the handling of the affairs of incompetent persons under their jurisdiction and err on the side of over-supervising rather than indifference. Bachinger, 675 So.2d at 188 (quoting Jones, 645 So.2d at 1017). Moreover, although courts must approve petitions for guardian's and attorney's fees, it is highly unrealistic to assume that such an ex parte procedure would involve any high level of scrutiny. Bachinger, 675 So.2d at 187. Thus, depending on the circumstances of the case and the specific issues involved, heirs of a ward may be considered interested persons for the purpose of participating in a guardianship proceeding, including a proceeding for guardian's or attorney's fees. See, e.g., Bachinger, 675 So.2d at 188 (beneficiaries under the ward's will, who cared for her before she became incompetent, were interested persons for the purpose of filing objections to guardian's petition for final discharge).