Adult Guardianship in Orange County: Where Do You Start, and Who Is Involved?

Latoya's situation: a familiar Orange County story

Latoya is 45, works two jobs, and lives in Orlando. Her father, who lives alone in a house he has owned for thirty years, has started missing medication doses, has let unpaid bills pile up on the kitchen table, and recently gave his debit card number to someone who called claiming to be from his bank. Latoya does not have a durable power of attorney for him, he never set up a trust, and there is no healthcare surrogate on file with his doctors. She loves her father, she is exhausted, and she does not know where a case like this even begins. (Latoya is a composite drawn from situations I see often in my practice, not an actual client.)

Her story is common in Central Florida, where a large retiree and aging population means Orange and Osceola County courts handle a steady stream of these cases. Guardianship under Chapter 744, Florida Statutes is a court process that appoints someone to make decisions for a person a judge finds incapacitated, and it is meant to be used only when less restrictive tools, like a power of attorney or health care surrogate, are not already in place or no longer work.

Where the case actually gets filed and heard

In Orange County, guardianship cases fall under the Ninth Judicial Circuit, which also covers Osceola County. The Circuit Court's Probate Division has jurisdiction over guardianship, incapacity determinations, and related matters, and the Ninth Circuit maintains a dedicated Probate, Guardianship, and Mental Health division to handle this docket.

The case begins with a petition to determine incapacity, filed with the Clerk of Court. For Orange County, guardianship reports and related filings go to the Clerk's Probate Division at the downtown Orlando courthouse. Petitions and most subsequent filings can generally be submitted through the Florida Courts e-filing portal, which has become the standard method for probate and guardianship filings statewide, including in the Ninth Circuit.

Because guardianship (other than a guardian advocate case) requires the guardian to be represented by an attorney under the Florida Probate Rules, this is not a do-it-yourself filing. An attorney prepares and files the petition, coordinates with the court, and represents the petitioner through the hearing.

The examining committee and the hearing

Once a petition to determine incapacity is filed, the court appoints a three-member examining committee, typically including physicians and other qualified professionals such as psychologists, social workers, or gerontologists. Each member independently evaluates the alleged incapacitated person and reports back to the court on their capacity in specific areas: managing finances, making healthcare decisions, voting, driving, marrying, and more.

The alleged incapacitated person has a right to an attorney, and if they cannot afford one, the court appoints one to represent their interests throughout the case. A hearing follows, where the judge reviews the examining committee's reports and any other evidence before deciding whether the person is incapacitated, and if so, to what extent.

Plenary or limited, of the person or of the property

If the court finds incapacity, it does not automatically strip away every right. Florida guardianship can be limited, removing only the specific rights the person cannot safely exercise, or plenary, removing all delegable rights when nothing less restrictive will protect the person. A guardianship can also be structured as guardian of the person (healthcare and daily living decisions), guardian of the property (financial matters), or both.

For someone like Latoya's father, whose primary trouble is with finances and medication management but who is otherwise able to express his own wishes about where he lives or who visits him, a limited guardianship focused on health and finances may be appropriate rather than a plenary one. The judge tailors the order to the specific findings from the hearing.

Separately, it is worth noting that a Baker Act examination under Chapter 394, Florida Statutes is a different legal process entirely. It is an involuntary mental health examination, not a guardianship proceeding, and it does not by itself result in anyone being appointed to make ongoing decisions for another adult.

Who can serve, and what training is required

Once the court appoints a guardian, that person takes on real ongoing legal duties. Family members serving as guardian in Florida must complete a court-approved guardianship training course before exercising their authority. This training covers the guardian's legal responsibilities, reporting duties, and the ethical boundaries of the role.

A nonresident of Florida may serve as guardian only if related to the ward within the degrees listed in the statute, such as a spouse, sibling, parent, child, or certain other close relatives. Someone with no qualifying family relationship generally cannot serve as guardian if they live outside Florida.

If a family is not available or willing to serve, the court may appoint a professional guardian. Professional guardians in Florida must register with the state's Office of Public and Professional Guardians and meet ongoing education and background screening requirements.

• Guardians of the person file an initial guardianship plan and then annual updates.
• Guardians of the property file an initial inventory of the ward's assets, followed by annual financial returns known as accountings.
• The Clerk's office reviews these filings, and small audit fees apply based on the value of the ward's estate.

How Latoya's case unfolds

Latoya works with an Orlando attorney who files a petition to determine incapacity for her father with the Clerk of Court in the Ninth Circuit. The court appoints an examining committee, whose reports show her father can still make his own decisions about daily living and healthcare, but can no longer safely manage banking, bill paying, or protect himself from scams. At the hearing, the judge finds him partially incapacitated and appoints Latoya as a limited guardian of the property, leaving her father's personal and healthcare decision-making rights intact.

Latoya completes the required family guardian training, files her initial inventory of her father's accounts and the house, and sets a calendar reminder for the annual financial return. It is more paperwork than she expected, but it also gives her the clear legal authority the bank had been asking for, and it gives her father protection from the kind of scam call that started this all.

Sources

• Ninth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida, Probate/Guardianship/Mental Health Court division page
• Ninth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida, Judicial Practices and Procedures, Probate-Guardianship-Mental Health Division 1, April 16, 2026
• Orange County Clerk of Courts, Guardianship FAQs

This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice, nor does reading it create an attorney-client relationship. Florida estate, elder, probate, and real estate law are fact-specific and change over time. Consult a licensed Florida attorney about your individual circumstances. Arthur Simpson, Esq. is licensed to practice law in the State of Florida. Attorney advertising.