RULE 5.800. APPLICATION OF REVISED CHAPTER 744 TO
EXISTING GUARDIANSHIPS

(a) Prior Adjudication of Incompetency. When an
adjudication of incompetency has taken place under chapter 744,
Florida Statutes, before October 1, 1989, no readjudication of
incapacity shall be required.
(b) Annual Guardianship Reports. Guardians appointed
before October 1, 1989, shall file annual guardianship reports as
required by law.

Committee Notes

Rule History

1989 Revision by Ad Hoc Committee: The committee adopted a
position that guardians appointed before the effective date of the
1989 revisions to chapter 744, Florida Statutes, should comply with
all sections of the law that apply to future acts of the guardian. For
example, all guardians will in the future file annual reports and will
be responsible for the continuing well-being of their wards. The
committee recognized a distinction between those actions that will
necessarily occur on a continuing basis throughout the
guardianship and those actions that happen at a particular
moment in time but are not necessarily ongoing duties. There are
two and only two specific examples to which the statutory reforms
would not apply retrospectively if the above distinction is adopted.
First, the initial adjudication of incapacity occurs only once in any
guardianship. Although guardianships are reevaluated annually,
the statute does not contemplate a complete readjudication
procedure every year. Therefore, the committee concluded that the
initial adjudicatory hearing need not be repeated for wards
adjudicated incompetent before October 1, 1989. Second, as
concerns nonresident guardians appointed before October 1, 1989,
normally, a guardian is appointed only once at the beginning of the
guardianship. While these nonresident guardians would be
expected to obey all provisions of the law prospectively, they would
not be required to initiate their own removal.

1991 Revision: Editorial changes in first sentence of (a), and
rest of subdivision deleted as unnecessary. Subdivision (b) has been
transferred to rule 5.650. Date reference no longer required in (c),
and modified to make filing requirement of preexisting
guardianships consistent with the current statutory provisions.

1992 Revision: Citation form changes in committee notes.
Statutory References

§ 744.367, Fla. Stat. Duty to file annual guardianship report.

§ 744.3675, Fla. Stat. Annual guardianship plan.

§ 744.3678, Fla. Stat. Annual accounting.

Rule References

Fla. Prob. R. 5.695 Annual guardianship report.

Fla. Prob. R. 5.696 Annual accounting.

PART IV — EXPEDITED JUDICIAL INTERVENTION
CONCERNING MEDICAL TREATMENT PROCEDURES