2025 Admin Order 25-28

25-28, SUPERSEDES 07-46-B and 07-36-B IN RE: PROBATE AND GUARDIANSHIP – FINGERPRINTING OF GUARDIANS - ORDERED 07/28/2025 BY MELANIE CHASE

ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO.: 25-28, SUPERSEDES 07-46-B and 07-36-B

IN RE: PROBATE AND GUARDIANSHIP – REPORTING BY GUARDIANS; USE OF CORPORATE CREDIT CARDS BY PROFESSIONAL GUARDIANS

This Administrative Order revokes and replaces Administrative Order 17-46-B and is a circuit-wide applicable Order.

In accordance with the authority vested in the chief judge by Rule 2.215, Florida Rules of General Practice and Judicial Administration, and section 744.3135, Florida Statutes, which provides in part that the court shall require all guardians to submit, at their own expense, to an investigation of his or her criminal background, it is hereby:

ORDERED that:

1. All nonprofessional proposed guardians shall submit fingerprints electronically at the time of initial application to be appointed guardian. All other documents required by the court to complete a credit and criminal background investigation shall be submitted directly to the clerk of court.
   1. Any individual who is fingerprinted and whose prints are not discernible or rejected due to image quality, as informed by the clerk of court, may petition the court to have his or her fingerprints waived after two (2) attempts.
   2. If any proposed guardian, guardian, or employee of a professional guardian with a fiduciary obligation to a ward, is advised that his or her fingerprints are not discernible or rejected due to image quality, the attorney for the proposed guardian, guardian, or professional guardian may file a motion with the court seeking waiver of the fingerprint requirement. The court will review the request and enter an order either granting or denying the waiver of fingerprinting of the proposed guardian, guardian, or employee of a professional guardian with a fiduciary obligation to a ward.  The order granting the waiver will apply to all future fingerprinting requirements for the individual, unless otherwise noted by the court.
   3. If a proposed guardian, guardian, or employee of a professional guardian with a fiduciary obligation to a ward has an order entered waiving fingerprints because his or her fingerprints are not discernible or rejected due to image quality, an alternative background investigation, both state and federal, is required.
2. Professional guardians, including employees of professional guardians, shall submit fingerprints electronically and must be electronically reprinted every five (5) years.
3. Every professional guardian is required to maintain proper registration with the Florida Department of Elder Affairs, Office of Public and Professional Guardians (OPPG). In each calendar year within twenty (20) working days of receipt of their Annual OPPG Registration Renewal, every professional guardian shall provide proof to the clerk of court in each county in which he or she appears.  The Annual Registration Renewal shall be submitted to each clerk of court under their assigned administrative case number and not to the individual case numbers for those cases in which they act in a professional guardianship capacity.  Failure to timely file their Annual OPPG Registration Renewal with the clerk of court shall result in the clerk of court providing notice to the presiding judge of their case(s) for further action on their delinquency.  The Annual Registration Renewal shall include a copy of the registration renewal letter from OPPG, an updated credit report, and a copy of their updated bond.  Professional guardians shall not bill the ward(s) nor seek compensation from the ward(s) for any time or expenses related to complying with this Administrative Order. 
4. Professional guardians shall not use corporate credit cards (either as an emergency temporary guardian or a permanent guardian) to pay for any costs or expenses associated with their obligations to care for or obtain goods and services for the ward. (See Florida Statutes 744.446(1); 744.446(3)(a); 744.446(3)(b); and Florida Administrative Code R.58M – 2.009 (20)(b), (h), (i) and R.58M – 2.009 (17)(g) and (17)(i)). 
5. Nothing herein will prevent the professional guardian from applying to the court in an individual case for the authority to obtain a guardianship account debit card, TrueLink, or similar program authorizing a fixed monthly allowance for the ward’s benefit so long as the account does not provide any monetary or other rewards to the professional guardian or staff of the professional guardian.

DONE and ORDERED this 28^th day of July 2025.

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MELANIE CHASE

CHIEF JUDGE