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: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2024-07-17

Snippet: erred in awarding attorney’s fees under section 744.108 relating to summary judgment, (4) the trial court

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

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2021-10-27

Snippet: Appellee the Guardianship Estate under section 744.108, Florida Statutes (2021). Wheelock challenges

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

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2021-06-23

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: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2019-07-10

Snippet: reasonableness of the fee pursuant to section 744.108(2), Florida Statutes (2018), we grant review, reverse

Schlesinger v. Jacob

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2018-02-21

Citation: 240 So. 3d 75

Snippet: denied entitlement to attorney’s fees under section 744.108(1), Florida Statutes (2016). That subsection provides:

Hernandez Sr. v. Hernandez

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2017-09-06

Citation: 230 So. 3d 119

Snippet: section 744.108, which governs guardian’s and attorney’s fees and expenses, and Hayes. Section 744.108 provides

Meyer v. Watras

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2017-05-10

Citation: 223 So. 3d 1010, 2017 WL 1929699, 2017 Fla. App. LEXIS 6574

Snippet: DCA 2012). First Petition Pursuant to section 744.108(1), Florida Statutes (2015), a guardianship attorney

Bivins v. Guardianship of Bivins

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2017-05-10

Citation: 223 So. 3d 1006, 2017 WL 1908386, 2017 Fla. App. LEXIS 6559

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

Kemp v. Berschback

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2016-11-18

Citation: 204 So. 3d 143, 2016 Fla. App. LEXIS 17250

Snippet: case.' The issue presented is whether section 744.108(1), Florida Statutes (2013), authorizes an award

Kemp v. Berschback

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2016-08-10

Snippet: case. The issue presented is whether section 744.108(1), Florida Statutes (2013), authorizes an award

Monarchcare, Inc. v. Guardianship of Block

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2016-08-03

Citation: 204 So. 3d 508, 2016 Fla. App. LEXIS 11708

Snippet: Judge Ticktin found that, pursuant to section 744.108, Florida Statutes (2015), there was no evidence

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

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2015-06-24

Citation: 166 So. 3d 959, 2015 Fla. App. LEXIS 9575

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

Steiner v. Guardianship of Steiner

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2015-03-04

Citation: 159 So. 3d 253, 2015 Fla. App. LEXIS 2968, 2015 WL 894259

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: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2014-11-21

Citation: 150 So. 3d 1256, 2014 Fla. App. LEXIS 19259, 2014 WL 6497820

Snippet: entitled to a reasonable fee for services rendered. § 744.108(1), Fla. Stat. (2013). In seeking such fees

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

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2014-11-05

Citation: 152 So. 3d 650, 2014 Fla. App. LEXIS 18086

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

Jaffe v. Guardianship of Jaffe

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2014-08-27

Citation: 147 So. 3d 578, 2014 Fla. App. LEXIS 13280, 2014 WL 4212741

Snippet: then applied the criteria set forth in section 744.108(2)(a)-(i), Florida Statutes (2013), and determined

Romano v. Olshen

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2014-03-12

Citation: 153 So. 3d 912, 2014 WL 940700

Snippet: reimbursement for costs incurred on behalf of the ward.” § 744.108(1), Fla. Stat. (2012). Such fees are “determined

Guardianship of Rawl v. Rawl

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2014-03-07

Citation: 133 So. 3d 1179, 2014 WL 889050

Snippet: section 744.108 because he established that all of his services benefited the Ward. Section 744.108(1) provides

Yazdzik v. Scott

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2014-01-08

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

Snippet: guardianship was never established. Because sections 744.108 and 744.331 do not contemplate the pay*484ment

Losh v. McKinley

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2013-02-20

Citation: 106 So. 3d 1014, 2013 Fla. App. LEXIS 2605, 2013 WL 646002

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