Florida Statute 744.369 - Full Text and Legal Analysis

The 2025 Florida Statutes

Title XLIII
DOMESTIC RELATIONS

Chapter 744
GUARDIANSHIP

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744.369 Judicial review of guardianship reports.—

(1) The court shall review the initial guardianship report within 60 days after the filing of the clerk’s report of findings to the court. The court shall review the annual guardianship report within 30 days after the filing of the clerk’s report of findings to the court.

(2) The court may appoint a general or special magistrate to assist the court in its review function. The court may require the general or special magistrate to conduct random field audits.

(3) If an initial or annual report is not timely filed, the court shall order the guardian to file the report or to show cause why the report has not been filed within the prescribed time. Service of the order and subsequent proceedings shall be governed by s. 744.3685.

(4) The court must review the initial and annual guardianship report to determine that the report:

(a) Meets the needs of the ward;

(b) Authorizes the guardian to act only in areas in which an adult ward has been declared incapacitated; and

(5) Upon examining the initial or annual guardianship report, the court shall enter an order approving or disapproving the report. If the court disapproves the report, the court shall order the guardian to provide a revised report or proof of any item in the report to the court. The guardian shall do so within a reasonable amount of time set by court.

(6) If the guardian fails to comply with the court order entered pursuant to subsection (5), the court shall take immediate action to compel compliance or to sanction the guardian after a hearing with appropriate notice to the ward, the ward’s counsel, if any, the guardian, and the ward’s next of kin.

(7) If an objection has been filed to a report, the court shall set the matter for hearing and shall conduct the hearing within 30 days after the filing of the objection. After the hearing, the court shall enter a written order either approving, or ordering modifications to, the report. If an objection is found to be without merit, the court may assess costs and attorney’s fees against the person who made the objection.

(8) The approved report constitutes the authority for the guardian to act in the forthcoming year. The powers of the guardian are limited by the terms of the report. The annual report may not grant additional authority to the guardian without a hearing, as provided for in s. 744.331, to determine that the ward is incapacitated to act in that matter. Unless the court orders otherwise, the guardian may continue to act under authority of the last-approved report until the forthcoming year’s report is approved.

History.—s. 54, ch. 89-96; s. 38, ch. 90-271; s. 1, ch. 99-277; s. 96, ch. 2004-11; s. 17, ch. 2015-83.

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Amendments to 744.369

Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

Cases Citing Statute 744.369

Total Results: 10 | Sort by: Relevance | Newest First

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Sun Bank & Trust Co. v. Jones, 645 So. 2d 1008 (Fla. 5th DCA 1994).

Cited 6 times | Published | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal | 1994 Fla. App. LEXIS 9379, 1994 WL 531274

...Where the issue is conflict of interest and what may or may not be in the ward's best interest, the guardian should have to produce clear and convincing evidence to persuade the court to authorize the action sought by the guardian. Cf. § 744.3725, Fla. Stat. (Supp. 1990). [3] § 744.369(1) and (5), Fla....

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Amend. to Rules of App. Proc., Civ. Proc., 887 So. 2d 1090 (Fla. 2004).

Cited 5 times | Published | Supreme Court of Florida | 2004 WL 2201732

...§ 733.901, Fla. Stat. Final discharge. ch. 738, Fla. Stat. Principal and income. § 744.367, Fla. Stat. Duty to file annual guardianship report. § 744.3678, Fla. Stat. Annual accounting. § 744.3685, Fla. Stat. Order requiring guardianship report; contempt. § 744.369, Fla....

...Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.490. 1992 Revision: Editorial change. Citation form change in committee notes. 2004 Revision: Change in nomenclature from "master" to "magistrate" to track similar change in the Florida Statutes. Statutory Reference § 744.369(2), Fla....

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In Re Amendments to the Florida Prob. Rules, 584 So. 2d 964 (Fla. 1991).

Cited 5 times | Published | Supreme Court of Florida | 16 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 557, 1991 Fla. LEXIS 1335, 1991 WL 169366

...If no exceptions are timely filed, the court shall take appropriate *990 action on the report. All timely filed exceptions may be heard by the court on reasonable notice by any party. Committee Notes Rule History 1991 Revision: This is a new rule, patterned after Fla.R.Civ.P. 1.490. Statutory Reference § 744.369(2), Fla....

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Ly v. Dept. of Health & Rehab., 696 So. 2d 430 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997).

Cited 3 times | Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal

...signment upon appropriate order of the chief judge. See In re Guardianship of Bentley, 342 So.2d 1045 (Fla. 4th DCA 1977); In the Interest of Wendy Dee Peterson, 364 So.2d 98 (Fla. 4th DCA 1978); Maugeri v. Plourde, 396 So.2d 1215 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981) Section 744.369, Florida Statutes, provides for judicial review of guardian reports when a guardianship has been established pursuant to chapter 744....

...Stat. If there is a determination that the individual is incapacitated a guardian may be appointed pursuant to section 744.344. The circuit court then reviews the condition of the ward annually, or more frequently *432 by petition, pursuant to sections 744.369 and 744.3715....

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Rothman-Browning v. Marshall, 83 So. 3d 859 (Fla. 4th DCA 2011).

Cited 1 times | Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal | 2011 Fla. App. LEXIS 20447, 2011 WL 6373038

...dance with section 744.367, Florida Statutes, the trial court erred in prematurely approving the plan without considering the objection. The co-trustee also argues the premature approval of the plan denied her due process. The guardian responds that section 744.369(1), Florida Statutes, only requires the trial court to review the guardianship plan within 30 days and because the trial court approved the guardianship plan within that time, it did not err....

...Section 744.367(4), Florida Statutes, provides that, “[wjithin 30 days after the annual report has been filed, any interested person, including the ward, may file written objections to any element of the report, specifying the nature of the objection.” § 744.367(4), Fla. Stat. (2010). Section 744.369(7) provides that, “[i]f an objection has been filed to a report, the court shall set the matter for hearing and shall conduct the hearing within 30 days after the filing of the objection.” § 744.369(7), Fla. Stat. (2010). Section 744.369(1) provides that, “[t]he court shall review the annual guardianship report within 30 days after the filing of the clerk’s report of findings to the court.” § 744.369(1), Fla....

...Dep’t of Envtl. Prot. v. ContractPoint Fla. Parks, LLC, 986 So.2d 1260, 1265-66 (Fla.2008)). Here, the co-trustee filed an objection to the guardianship plan precisely thirty days after it was filed. Under the plain meaning of sections 744.367(4) and 744.369(7), an objection filed within thirty days entitles the objector to a hearing. While section 744.369(1) does not expressly require the trial court to wait the full thirty days before entering a final order approving a guardianship plan, when section 744.369(1) is read in pari materia with sections 744.367(4) and 744.369(7), it is clear that an objection filed within thirty days is entitled to consideration. Otherwise, sections 744.367(4) and 744.369(7) would be rendered meaningless....

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In re Amendments to the Florida Prob. Rules, 607 So. 2d 1306 (Fla. 1992).

Published | Supreme Court of Florida | 17 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 636, 1992 Fla. LEXIS 1622, 1992 WL 249483

...F.S, 744,427-Annual returns. F.S. 744.431 -Order requiring return; contempt, § 744.367, Fla.Stat. Duty to file annual guardianship report. § 744.3678, Fla.Stat. Annual accounting. § 744.3685, Fla.Stat. Order requiring guardianship report; contempt. § 744.369, Fla.Stat....

...All timely filed exceptions may be heard by the court on reasonable notice by any party. Committee Notes Rule History 1991 Revision; This is a new rule, patterned after Fla,R.Civ.-P,Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.490. 1992 Revision: Editorial change. Citation form change in committee notes. Statutory Reference § 744.369(2), Fla.Stat....

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Amendments to the Florida Prob. Rules, 848 So. 2d 1069 (Fla. 2003).

Published | Supreme Court of Florida | 28 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 495, 2003 Fla. LEXIS 1063, 2003 WL 21402500

...Distribution; fFinal discharge. ch. 738, Fla. Stat. Principal and income. § 744.367, Fla. Stat. Duty to file annual guardianship report. § 744.3678, Fla. Stat. Annual accounting. § 744.3685, Fla. Stat. Order requiring guardianship report; contempt. § 744.369, Fla....

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In Re Amend. to Florida Prob. Rules, 986 So. 2d 576 (Fla. 2008).

Published | Supreme Court of Florida | 33 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 542, 2008 Fla. LEXIS 1242, 2008 WL 2686339

...Stat. Principal and income. § 744.3085, Fla. Stat. Guardian advocates. § 744.367, Fla. Stat. Duty to file annual guardianship report. § 744.3678, Fla. Stat. Annual accounting. § 744.3685, Fla. Stat. Order requiring guardianship report; contempt. § 744.369, Fla....

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Morgan v. Guardianship of Turgeon, 724 So. 2d 175 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1999).

Published | District Court of Appeal of Florida | 1999 Fla. App. LEXIS 69, 1999 WL 2803

...r the restoration of one or more rights after an interested person files a suggestion of capacity. Petitioner filed a petition for a writ of mandamus to compel the circuit court to follow the dictates of section 744.331. 1 We grant the petition. See § 744.369(8) (additional authority may not be granted to guardian without a hearing as provided for in section 744.331); Robert P....

...RACTICE (The Florida Bar 3d ed.1998) § 14.23 (“[I]f the guardian believes that action should be taken that requires that additional rights of the ward be removed, the entire procedure to determine incapacity (see F.S. 744.331) must be repeated. F.S. 744.369(8).”)....

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Est. of Patricia McLain, McLain, Jr. v. Guardianship of Patricia A. McLain (Fla. 2d DCA 2025).

Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal

...a hearing on those issues. See § 744.527(1) ("If objections are filed [to the final report], the court shall conduct a hearing in the same manner 12 as provided for a hearing on objections to annual guardianship reports."); § 744.369(7) ("If an objection has been filed to a report, the court shall set the matter for hearing ....