Florida Statutes 744.421 – Petition for support of ward’s dependents
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Terms Used In Florida Statutes 744.421
- Court: means the circuit court. See Florida Statutes 744.102
- Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- Guardian: means a person who has been appointed by the court to act on behalf of a ward's person or property, or both. See Florida Statutes 744.102
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- 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
- Property: means both real and personal property or any interest in it and anything that may be the subject of ownership. See Florida Statutes 744.102
- Ward: means a person for whom a guardian has been appointed. See Florida Statutes 744.102
Any person dependent on the ward for support may petition for an order directing the guardian of the property to contribute to the support of the dependent person from the property of the ward. The court may enter an order for suitable support and education of the dependent person out of the ward’s property that is subject to the guardianship. The grant or denial of an order for support shall not preclude a further petition for increase, decrease, modification, or termination of allowance for support by either the petitioner or the guardian. The order for support shall be valid for payments made pursuant to it, but no valid payments can be made after the termination of the guardianship. The receipt of the petitioner shall be a sufficient release of the guardian for payments made pursuant to the order. If the property of the ward is derived in whole or in part from payments of compensation, adjusted compensation, pension, insurance, or other benefits made directly to the guardian by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, notice of the petition for support shall be given by the petitioner to the office of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs having jurisdiction over the area in which the court is located and the chief attorney for the Department of Veterans’ Affairs in this state at least 15 days before the hearing on the petition. The court may not authorize payments from the ward’s property unless the ward has been adjudicated incapacitated to handle such property in accordance with s. 744.331; except in a voluntary guardianship, in which case such petition may be granted only upon the written consent of the ward.