Florida Statutes 744.3725 – Procedure for extraordinary authority
Current as of: 2023 | Check for updates
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Terms Used In Florida Statutes 744.3725
- Court: means the circuit court. See Florida Statutes 744.102
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Incapacitated person: means a person who has been judicially determined to lack the capacity to manage at least some of the property or to meet at least some of the essential health and safety requirements of the person. See Florida Statutes 744.102
- person: includes individuals, children, firms, associations, joint adventures, partnerships, estates, trusts, business trusts, syndicates, fiduciaries, corporations, and all other groups or combinations. See Florida Statutes 1.01
Before the court may grant authority to a guardian to exercise any of the rights specified in s. 744.3215(4), the court must:
(1) Appoint an independent attorney to act on the incapacitated person‘s behalf, and the attorney must have the opportunity to meet with the person and to present evidence and cross-examine witnesses at any hearing on the petition for authority to act;
(2) Receive as evidence independent medical, psychological, and social evaluations with respect to the incapacitated person by competent professionals or appoint its own experts to assist in the evaluations;
(3) Personally meet with the incapacitated person to obtain its own impression of the person’s capacity, so as to afford the incapacitated person the full opportunity to express his or her personal views or desires with respect to the judicial proceeding and issue before the court;
(4) Find by clear and convincing evidence that the person lacks the capacity to make a decision about the issue before the court and that the incapacitated person’s capacity is not likely to change in the foreseeable future; and
(5) Be persuaded by clear and convincing evidence that the authority being requested is in the best interests of the incapacitated person.
The provisions of this section and s. 744.3215(4) are procedural and do not establish any new or independent right to or authority over the termination of parental rights, dissolution of marriage, sterilization, abortion, or the termination of life support systems.