Paralegal Checklist: Starting a New Florida Guardianship Matter

Collect at intake: the ward

The guardianship plan requires information that is much easier to gather at the start than a year later.

• The ward's current address and each place the ward lived during the past year, with length of stay.
• Medical and mental health providers and a summary of recent treatment.
• A physician (or advanced practice registered nurse) who can examine the ward, with timing in mind. The annual plan for an adult ward needs a report from an examination no more than 90 days before the reporting period starts.
• Social and personal services the ward uses.
• Any do-not-resuscitate orders or advance directives, with their dates.

Collect at intake: the property

• Real and personal property, with enough detail to identify and locate each item.
• Encumbrances, liens and other secured claims on any item, claims against the property, causes of action belonging to the ward and trusts of which the ward is a beneficiary.
• Every source of income, including Social Security benefits and pensions.
• The most current statement from every institution where the ward has cash on deposit.
• Any safe-deposit box. Opening it and inventorying it must be done with a bank employee present, and the inventory is filed within 10 days.

Calendar from day one

• Initial report (verified inventory and initial plan): within 60 days after the letters are signed.
• First accounting basis (fiscal or calendar): tell the court within 30 days after letters issue, unless the court directs otherwise.
• Annual plan: within 90 days after the last day of the anniversary month of the letters.
• Annual accounting: April 1, unless the court authorizes fiscal-year filing.

The statutes behind each date are in the guardianship reporting calendar, and what goes into each report is in annual guardianship plan vs. annual accounting and the verified inventory checklist.

Forms and local practice

Circuits and clerks publish their own forms. The Thirteenth Circuit's Elder Justice Center lists initial plans for minors and adults, the verified inventory, annual plans for minors and adults, a physician statement for the annual plan and the annual accounting, and the Collier County Clerk lists a similar set. Check whether your circuit has a required version before using one.

General information for Florida practice staff, reviewed in October 2026 against the statute text linked in the related guides. It is not legal advice. Circuit practices differ, so confirm against your circuit's requirements and the supervising attorney's instructions.

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