What does an elder law attorney do in Florida?

An elder law attorney helps older adults and their families plan for incapacity, deal with guardianship or avoid it, prepare for long term care and Medicaid, protect the homestead, and settle estates and trusts. The work is about making decisions before a crisis forces them.

How can I avoid guardianship for a parent in Florida?

The usual way is for your parent, while still competent, to sign a durable power of attorney, a health care surrogate designation and, where it fits, a revocable trust. Before appointing a guardian, the court must consider whether such an alternative sufficiently addresses the problem.

What is a preneed guardian declaration in Florida?

Under section 744.3045, a competent adult can name in writing, before two witnesses, the person they want as guardian if one is ever needed. It can be filed with the clerk and creates a rebuttable presumption that the named person is entitled to serve.

What is the Medicaid look back period in Florida?

For the Institutional Care Program, DCF states it must review any assets transferred within the last 60 months before the month of application. Transfers inside that window can affect eligibility, and the rules depend on the person and change over time.

Who decides Medicaid eligibility for nursing home care in Florida?

The Department of Children and Families determines Medicaid eligibility. The level of care needed for nursing facility services or the long term care waiver is decided through the Department of Elder Affairs CARES assessment process.

Do family guardians in Florida have to take a course?

Yes, as a rule. Section 744.3145 requires a nonprofessional guardian to complete at least 8 hours of approved instruction within 4 months of appointment, or 4 hours for a parent who is guardian of a minor's property. The court may waive it.

Florida Elder Law Attorney | Cannady & Associates

Quick answer

A Florida elder law attorney helps older adults and their families plan for incapacity with a durable power of attorney, health care surrogate and living will, handle guardianship or its alternatives under chapter 744, prepare for long term care and Medicaid, protect the homestead and settle estates and trusts. Medicaid eligibility is decided by the Department of Children and Families.

Most families come to elder law at a turning point. A parent has a fall, a diagnosis or a stay in rehab. A spouse starts to forget bills. A nursing home asks who has authority to sign. The questions arrive all at once: who can make decisions, how will care be paid for, what happens to the house, and does anyone have to go to court. Elder law brings those questions together so you can answer them in order, ideally before a crisis rather than during one.

This page explains the parts of elder law our firm handles, the Florida rules behind each one, and where local procedure differs from county to county. It is general information, not advice for your situation. Rules about benefits in particular change often and depend on the person, so a plan should always be checked against current rules when it is put in place.

What our elder law practice covers

Planning for incapacity: a durable power of attorney, a health care surrogate designation and a living will.
Guardianship and guardianship alternatives: advising families when a guardianship may be needed, and planning so that it often is not.
Long term care and Medicaid planning: understanding how Florida's long term care Medicaid programs work and how your assets, income and home may be reviewed.
Protecting the Florida homestead: creditor protection, the limits on leaving a home by will, and property tax exemptions for older owners.
Probate and trust administration: guiding families after a death, whether the estate goes through probate or a trust.

Planning for incapacity

If you lose the ability to manage your own affairs and have not signed the right documents, your family may have no legal authority to act for you. Three documents do most of the work.

Durable power of attorney. Names an agent to handle money and property. Under chapter 709 it is signed before two witnesses and a notary, and a power of attorney signed after October 1, 2011 is effective when signed, because Florida no longer allows new springing powers. Certain powers, such as creating or changing a trust, must be separately initialed by you.
Health care surrogate designation. Names the person who speaks with doctors and makes medical decisions when you cannot.
Living will. States your wishes about life prolonging treatment near the end of life.

The health care surrogate designation and living will are each signed before two adult witnesses, and at least one witness may not be your spouse or a blood relative. Signed together and kept up to date, these documents let the people you chose act quickly, without asking a court for permission.

Guardianship in Florida

Guardianship is the court process used when an adult can no longer manage some or all of their own affairs and no other arrangement is in place. It is governed by chapter 744 of the Florida Statutes and handled by the circuit court in the county where the person lives. It protects people, but it is public, it takes time and it continues under court supervision for as long as the guardianship lasts.

The process generally runs in this order:

A petition to determine incapacity is filed, usually by a family member, together with a petition to appoint a guardian.
The court appoints an attorney for the person alleged to be incapacitated (s. 744.331). The person may choose their own attorney instead.
An examining committee of three members, at least one of them a psychiatrist or other physician, is appointed within 5 days, and each member files a report within 15 days of appointment.
The court holds a hearing. Before removing rights the person could delegate, the court must consider whether an alternative to guardianship, such as a power of attorney, sufficiently addresses the problem. If one does, no guardian is appointed.
The proposed guardian is screened. Under s. 744.3135, a nonprofessional guardian generally completes a credit history check and a level 2 fingerprint background screening before appointment, unless the court waives them.
The guardian completes training and reports. A nonprofessional guardian must complete at least 8 hours of approved instruction within 4 months of appointment (s. 744.3145). The guardian then files an initial plan or inventory and annual reports, which the clerk reviews.

Each circuit sets its own approved education courses, forms and filing schedules, and some clerks run dedicated guardianship audit programs. Our county pages below explain those local differences.

Alternatives to guardianship

Florida law prefers the least restrictive option that works. The table shows the main tools families use instead of, or alongside, a guardianship.

Tool	What it does	How it is signed
Durable power of attorney	Lets an agent manage finances and property	Two witnesses and a notary
Health care surrogate designation	Lets a surrogate make medical decisions	Two adult witnesses
Revocable living trust	Lets a successor trustee manage trust assets if you cannot	With the formalities of a will for its testamentary parts
Preneed guardian declaration	Names who you want as guardian if one is ever needed	Two witnesses present together

A preneed guardian declaration under s. 744.3045 is worth knowing about. Any competent adult may name, in writing, the person they want to serve as guardian, and an alternate. You may file the declaration with the clerk of court in advance. If an incapacity case is ever filed, the clerk produces it, and it creates a rebuttable presumption that your choice is entitled to serve, as long as the court finds that person qualified. The named guardian then petitions for confirmation within 20 days of taking up the duties.

Long term care and Medicaid planning

The cost of long term care is often what brings families to an elder law attorney. In Florida, eligibility for Medicaid is determined by the Department of Children and Families (DCF), and long term care services are delivered through a few different programs. DCF's published SSI Related Medicaid fact sheet describes, among others:

The Institutional Care Program (ICP), which helps people in nursing facilities pay for their care. A level of care decision is made through the Department of Elder Affairs CARES assessment process.
The Statewide Medicaid Managed Care Long Term Care waiver, which provides services to help a person keep living in the community, also based on a CARES assessment.
Special rules for married couples, when one spouse needs care and the other continues to live at home.

One rule surprises many families. For ICP, DCF states that it must review any assets transferred within the last 60 months before the month of application. Gifts to children, transfers of a home and similar moves made inside that window can affect eligibility. DCF also notes that its income standards generally change in January and April of each year.

To apply, DCF directs applicants to the ACCESS Florida online application at myaccess.myflfamilies.com, where a person seeking long term care checks the box for HCBS/Waivers or Nursing Home on the Benefit Information screen. DCF's call center is (850) 300-4323. Applications can also be made with help from DCF's community partners and family resource centers.

No promises about benefits. Whether someone qualifies for Medicaid depends on their health, income, assets, marital status and the rules in effect when they apply, and DCF makes that decision. Medicaid planning means understanding those rules early and arranging your affairs lawfully with them in mind. We explain the options, but we do not promise that anyone will qualify.

Protecting the Florida homestead

For most older Floridians the home is the largest asset and the hardest to plan for. Under Article X, Section 4 of the Florida Constitution, a primary residence is protected from most creditors, and there are limits on how it can be left by will when you are survived by a spouse or minor child. Florida also recognizes enhanced life estate deeds, often called lady bird deeds, which some families use to pass a home outside probate.

Property taxes matter too. The homestead exemption is applied for by March 1 (s. 196.011). Under s. 196.075, a county or city may also grant an additional exemption of up to $50,000 to owners 65 and older whose household income is under a limit set each year, which the Florida Department of Revenue lists as $38,686 for 2026. A second version, for owners who have lived in a home worth less than $250,000 for at least 25 years, exempts up to the assessed value. Both are local options, so whether you receive them depends on your county and city. Our Florida homestead planning page explains the inheritance rules in more detail.

Probate and trust administration for families

When an older parent dies, the family still has work to do. If assets were left outside a trust, the estate may need probate. Summary administration is generally available when the non exempt estate is $150,000 or less, a limit raised from $75,000 by chapter 2026-57 effective July 1, 2026, or when the person died more than two years ago. In formal administration, creditors generally have three months from first publication of the notice to creditors to file claims. If the parent had a revocable living trust, the successor trustee administers it under the Florida Trust Code, usually without a court case. We guide personal representatives and trustees through each step.

Elder law help in your county

Guardianship cases are filed in the circuit court where the person lives, and each circuit has its own forms, approved courses and procedures. Our county pages cover those details:

How we work with elder law clients

We serve clients anywhere in Florida. You can meet with an attorney at our offices in Fort Lauderdale, Indian Harbour Beach or Orlando, or by phone or video, which often suits adult children who live in another state. Your first consultation is free. Because the firm limits its caseload, you and your family work directly with an attorney who knows your plan. If you are starting from the beginning, our estate planning page explains the core documents. Contact us to talk through where your family stands.

Florida Elder Law Attorney