Florida Statute 744.108 | Lawyer Caselaw & Research

The 2024 Florida Statutes

Title XLIII
DOMESTIC RELATIONS

Chapter 744
GUARDIANSHIP

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F.S. 744.108

744.108 Guardian and attorney fees and expenses.—

(1) A guardian, or an attorney who has rendered services to the ward or to the guardian on the ward’s behalf, is entitled to a reasonable fee for services rendered and reimbursement for costs incurred on behalf of the ward.

(2) When fees for a guardian or an attorney are submitted to the court for determination, the court shall consider the following criteria:

(a) The time and labor required;

(b) The novelty and difficulty of the questions involved and the skill required to perform the services properly;

(d) The fee customarily charged in the locality for similar services;

(e) The nature and value of the incapacitated person’s property, the amount of income earned by the estate, and the responsibilities and potential liabilities assumed by the person;

(f) The results obtained;

(g) The time limits imposed by the circumstances;

(h) The nature and length of the relationship with the incapacitated person; and

(i) The experience, reputation, diligence, and ability of the person performing the service.

(3) In awarding fees to attorney guardians, the court must clearly distinguish between fees and expenses for legal services and fees and expenses for guardian services and must have determined that no conflict of interest exists.

(4) Fees for legal services may include customary and reasonable charges for work performed by legal assistants employed by and working under the direction of the attorney.

(5) All petitions for guardian and attorney fees and expenses must be accompanied by an itemized description of the services performed for the fees and expenses sought to be recovered.

(6) 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.

(7) A petition for fees shall include the period covered and the total amount of all prior fees paid or costs awarded to the petitioner in the guardianship proceeding currently before the court.

(8) When court proceedings are instituted to review or determine a guardian’s or an attorney’s fees under subsection (2), such proceedings are part of the guardianship administration process and the costs, including costs and attorney fees for the guardian’s attorney, an attorney appointed under s. 744.331(2), or an attorney who has rendered services to the ward, shall be determined by the court and paid from the assets of the guardianship estate unless the court finds the requested compensation under subsection (2) to be substantially unreasonable.

(9) The court may determine that a request for compensation by the guardian, the guardian’s attorney, a person employed by the guardian, an attorney appointed under s. 744.331(2), or an attorney who has rendered services to the ward, is reasonable without receiving expert testimony. A person or party may offer expert testimony for or against a request for compensation after giving notice to interested persons. Reasonable expert witness fees shall be awarded by the court and paid from the assets of the guardianship estate using the standards in subsection (8).

History.—ss. 18, 26, ch. 75-222; s. 11, ch. 89-96; s. 5, ch. 90-271; s. 2, ch. 96-354; s. 7, ch. 2003-57; s. 4, ch. 2015-83.

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F.S. 744.108 on Casetext

Amendments to 744.108

Arrestable Offenses / Crimes under Fla. Stat. 744.108

Level: Degree
Misdemeanor/Felony: First/Second/Third

Current data shows no reason an arrest or criminal charge should have occurred directly under Florida Statute 744.108.

Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

Cases Citing Statute 744.108

Total Results: 20

Richard Ticktin v. Guardianship of Steven Howard Ticktin

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2024-07-17T00:00:00-07:00

Snippet: award of fees to the mother under section 744.108. Section 744.108 applies to guardians, not guardian advocates…erred in awarding attorney’s fees under section 744.108 relating to summary judgment, (4) the trial court…and costs against the father pursuant to section 744.108(1), Florida Statutes (2021), as well as Golden …summary judgment. According to the father, section 744.108, Florida Statutes (2021), applies to guardians,…child was not. The father also argues that section 744.108 authorizes an award to be paid from the assets

MACY KATHERINE BETZOLD WHEELOCK, etc. v. IN RE: GUARDIANSHIP OF YVONNE BETZOLD

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2021-10-27T00:53:00-07:00

Snippet: Appellee the Guardianship Estate under section 744.108, Florida Statutes (2021). Wheelock challenges…the amount, the court must be guided by section 744.108(2). See Jones v. Dunning, 661 So. 2d 941, 942 (

BRENDA KLEPACH ABRAMS v. IN RE: ESTHER KLEPACH, etc.

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2021-06-23T00:53:00-07:00

Snippet: Martino, 313 So. 3d 687 (Fla. 2d DCA 2020); § 744.108(6), Fla. Stat. (2021).

LAWRENCE T. REID, JR. v. GUARDIANSHIP OF MARGARET REID

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2019-07-10T00:53:00-07:00

Snippet: reasonableness of the fee pursuant to section 744.108(2), Florida Statutes (2018), we grant review, reverse…granted appellate attorney’s fees based upon section 744.108(8), which allows attorney’s fees for the review…unreasonable” after a determination under section 744.108(2). At the hearing on fees, both appellant…Appellant seeks review of this order. Section 744.108(2), Florida Statutes, provides the criteria that

Schlesinger v. Jacob

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2018-02-21T00:00:00-08:00

Citation: 240 So. 3d 75

Snippet: specially) (“Nothing in either section 744.108(1) or 744.108(2) entitles a party to an award of attorney…denied entitlement to attorney’s fees under section 744.108(1), Florida Statutes (2016). That subsection provides…adopted our sister courts’ construction of section 744.108(1). See Losh v. McKinley, 106 So. 3d 1014, 1015…amount and reasonableness is guided by section 744.108(2), Fla. Stat. (2016) which provides: When… guardianship attorney’s fee statute, section 744.108(1), the requirement that an attorney’s services

Hernandez Sr. v. Hernandez

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2017-09-06T00:00:00-07:00

Citation: 230 So. 3d 119

Snippet: which governs guardianship proceedings, section 744.108, which governs guardian’s and attorney’s fees …fees and expenses, and Hayes. Section 744.108 provides that “[a] … for costs incurred on behalf of the ward,” § 744.108(1), Fla. Stat.(2016), and “[a] petition for fees…ward is a minor or is totally incapacitated,” § 744.108(b), Fla. Stat. (2016). Because the guardianship… 8 Although section 744.108 does not specifically require that an “interested

Bivins v. Guardianship of Bivins

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2017-05-10T00:00:00-07:00

Citation: 223 So. 3d 1006

Snippet: reimbursement for costs incurred on behalf of the ward.” § 744.108(1), Fla, . Stat. (2016). When a guardian seeks

Meyer v. Watras

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2017-05-10T00:00:00-07:00

Citation: 223 So. 3d 1010

Snippet: DCA 2012). First Petition Pursuant to section 744.108(1), Florida Statutes (2015), a guardianship attorney…costs incurred on behalf of the ward.” Section 744.108(2) lists nine factors that courts must consider…determining an award of attorney’s fees. Section 744.108(4) explains that “[flees for legal services may…failing to consider the nine factors in section 744.108(2) when it. determined that the amount requested… the order did not expressly reference section 744.108(2), the order sufficiently explained why the court

Kemp v. Berschback

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2016-11-18T00:00:00-08:00

Citation: 204 So. 3d 143

Snippet: section 744.108(1), or in chapter 744 generally, that the term “guardian” in section 744.108(1) means….' The issue presented is whether section 744.108(1), Florida Statutes (2013), authorizes an award…2d DCA 2014), the trial court held that section 744.108(1) does not authorize an award in such circumstances…entitlement to an award of fees and costs under section 744.108(1) or, alternatively, a theory of unjust enrichment…petitions. It held *147 that section 744.108(1) did not permit an award of fees and costs to

Kemp v. Berschback

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2016-08-10T00:53:00-07:00

Snippet: section 744.108 is not triggered in this case." Id. at 485. We observed that section 744.108 does … case. The issue presented is whether section 744.108(1), Florida Statutes (2013), authorizes an award… DCA 2014), the trial court held that section 744.108(1) does not authorize an award in such circumstances…entitlement to an award of fees and costs under section 744.108(1) or, alternatively, a theory of unjust enrichment…order denying the petitions. It held that section 744.108(1) did not permit an award of fees and costs to

Monarchcare, Inc. v. Guardianship of Block

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2016-08-03T00:00:00-07:00

Citation: 204 So. 3d 508

Snippet: Judge Ticktin found that, pursuant to section 744.108, Florida Statutes (2015), there was no evidence…511ment for costs incurred on behalf of the ward.” § 744.108(1), Fla. Stat. (2015). [T]he guardian has the burden…of the person performing ' the service. § 744.108(2), Fla. Stat. (2015). Where the trial court has

Karim H. Saadeh v. Michael Connors, Colette Meyer Deborah Barfield and Jacob Noble

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2015-06-24T00:00:00-07:00

Citation: 166 So. 3d 959

Snippet: intended beneficiary of the proceedings. Section 744.108, Florida Statutes, authorizes the payment of attorney

Steiner v. Guardianship of Steiner

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2015-03-04T00:00:00-08:00

Citation: 159 So. 3d 253

Snippet: clients, as is required by section 744.108. “Because sections 744.108 and 744.331 do not contemplate the

White v. Guardianship of Gary L. Lubin

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2014-11-21T00:00:00-08:00

Citation: 150 So. 3d 1256

Snippet: entitled to a reasonable fee for services rendered. § 744.108(1), Fla. Stat. (2013). In seeking such fees…compensation based on the factors listed in section 744.108(2) but may not deny compensation altogether.”).…petition for compensation on remand. See § 744.108(2). Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and

Kathleen G. Kozinski, etc. v. Amy Stabenow and Nora Faul

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2014-11-05T00:00:00-08:00

Citation: 152 So. 3d 650

Snippet: as found in section 733.6175. See § 744.108, Fla. Stat. (2014). “A ‘surcharge’ is the

Jaffe v. Guardianship of Jaffe

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2014-08-27T00:00:00-07:00

Citation: 147 So. 3d 578

Snippet: then applied the criteria set forth in section 744.108(2)(a)-(i), Florida Statutes (2013), and determined…review or determine attorney’s fees under section 744.108(2), “such proceedings are part of the guardianship…subsection (2) to be substantially unreasonable.” § 744.108(8), Fla. Stat (2013). Expert witness fees may be…not “defeat the statutory purposes” of section 744.108 to award Carr the fees and costs for Levy and Zamora

Romano v. Olshen

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2014-03-12T00:00:00-07:00

Citation: 153 So. 3d 912

Snippet: reimbursement for costs incurred on behalf of the ward.” § 744.108(1), Fla. Stat. (2012). Such fees are “determined…from the assets of the guardianship estate,” § 744.108(8), Fla. Stat. (2012), where the “guardianship … setting a "reasonable fee” under section 744.108(1), Florida Statutes (2012), the guardianship court…deplete the guardianship estate. Thus, section 744.108(2)(e) requires a court to consider, among other…amount of income earned by the estate”; section 744.108(2)(g) makes the "time limits imposed by the

Guardianship of Rawl v. Rawl

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2014-03-07T00:00:00-08:00

Citation: 133 So. 3d 1179

Snippet: section 744.108 because he established that all of his services benefited the Ward. Section 744.108(1) provides….3d 730, 731 n. 1 (Fla. 5th DCA 2009). . See § 744.108(1); In re Guardianship of Ansley, 94 So.3d 711,

Yazdzik v. Scott

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2014-01-08T00:00:00-08:00

Citation: 129 So. 3d 482, 2014 WL 51382, 2014 Fla. App. LEXIS 126

Snippet: We next turn our attention to section 744.108. Section 744.108(1) entitles “[a] guardian, or an attorney…language of section 744.108 itself. Namely, in various subsections of section 744.108, the term “incapacitated…referenced. *486See, e.g., § 744.108(2)(e), (h). Additionally, section 744.108(6) provides that “[a] petition…section 744.108, a guardianship must ultimately be established. II. Conclusion In sum, section 744.108 clearly…guardianship was never established. Because sections 744.108 and 744.331 do not contemplate the pay*484ment

Losh v. McKinley

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2013-02-20T00:00:00-08:00

Citation: 106 So. 3d 1014

Snippet: Payment of Attorney’s Fee and Expenses.” See § 744.108(1), (2), Fla. Stat. (2012); In re Guardianship