Guardianship or Power of Attorney? How It Works in Polk County Courts

When does a Polk County family need a guardianship?

Only when a parent can no longer make decisions and never signed the papers that would let someone else act. If a valid durable power of attorney and health care surrogate already exist, a Florida court must consider them before it appoints anyone.

The usual trigger is a crisis: a dementia diagnosis that has moved fast, a stroke, or a hospital stay that ends with a parent who cannot sign an assisted living contract, manage a bank account or agree to treatment. Families in Lakeland, Winter Haven and Bartow often learn at that moment that being a spouse or adult child does not, by itself, give anyone authority over a parent's money.

Health care is the exception. When there is no surrogate designation, Florida law lets a health care proxy decide in a fixed order of priority: a guardian if one exists, then the spouse, then a majority of the adult children who are reasonably available, then parents and adult siblings. Money, property and contracts have no such default, which is why bank accounts and a home sale are what push most families toward the courthouse.

If your parent can still understand what they are signing, the cheaper path is to get documents signed now. Our guide to the first weeks after a dementia diagnosis covers that conversation.

How does a guardianship case work at the Polk County Clerk?

A family member files two petitions with the Polk County Clerk's probate department, one to determine incapacity and one to appoint a guardian, and the proposed guardian must have an attorney. The court then appoints a three-member examining committee within 5 days and holds a hearing after the reports are in.

The petitions and copies are served on your parent and read to them, and next of kin named in the petition get notice of the hearing. The court appoints an attorney to represent your parent, who may substitute an attorney of their own. That attorney cannot later serve as the guardian or represent the petitioner.

The examining committee has three members, at least one a psychiatrist or other physician, and the family doctor generally cannot sit on it but must be consulted if available. Each member examines your parent, looks at physical health, mental health and day-to-day function, and files a written report with the Clerk within 15 days of appointment. If a majority finds your parent is not incapacitated in any respect, the petition is dismissed.

Otherwise the hearing is held at least 10 days, and no more than 30 days, after the last report is filed, unless there is good cause. The judge must find incapacity by clear and convincing evidence and may remove only the rights your parent cannot exercise, such as the right to contract, manage property, decide where to live or consent to medical treatment. A partial guardianship is possible, and the judge may not appoint a guardian at all if a less restrictive alternative would solve the problem.

In a true emergency, such as money being drained or a parent refusing to leave an unsafe home, the court can appoint an emergency temporary guardian after the incapacity petition is filed, usually on at least 24 hours' notice. That authority lasts 90 days and can be extended once for another 90.

Guardianship vs. power of attorney: which fits a Lakeland parent?

A durable power of attorney and a health care surrogate are signed by the parent while still able, cost little and stay private; a guardianship is ordered by a judge after the parent has lost capacity and stays under court supervision.

A guardianship is not a faster or stronger version of a power of attorney. It is the fallback when no valid documents exist or they do not cover the problem.

A durable power of attorney only works if it was signed while your parent understood it, with two witnesses and a notary, and with language saying it survives incapacity. Find the original and read it before you need it. A health care surrogate designation lets the person your parent chose talk to doctors and decide on treatment without a court order.

If a guardianship is later opened anyway, the judge must look for any advance directive and decide what the surrogate keeps doing and what the guardian takes over. A preneed guardian declaration does not avoid court, but it creates a presumption that the person your parent picked will be appointed, which can prevent a family fight. Our page on caring for a parent from out of town explains how families split these roles.

What does a Polk County guardian have to file every year?

A guardian of the property files a verified inventory, then an annual accounting, and a guardian of the person files an annual plan, all with the Clerk, which audits them for a fee set by state law. Every family guardian must also finish 8 hours of guardianship training within 4 months of appointment.

The inventory and the first plan are due within 60 days after the letters of guardianship are signed, and the annual accounting covers each year after that. The Clerk's office reviews these reports, and its Inspector General takes reports of fraud or waste of a ward's money. A guardian who cannot pay an audit fee may ask the court to waive it.

These fees are only the Clerk's share. The proposed guardian must also hire an attorney for the case, so ask any probate attorney for a written estimate before filing. For a parent moving into care, the guardian's authority to choose a residence matters too: our page on Florida residents' rights and discharge rules shows what an assisted living facility owes the person who signs for your parent.

Who serves as guardian in Polk County when no family can?

The Tenth Circuit Public Guardian, which covers Hardee, Highlands, Osceola and Polk counties, can serve a parent who has been found incapacitated, is indigent, and has no family or friend willing or able to serve. Families with means and no willing relative usually turn to a registered professional guardian instead.

The Department of Elder Affairs' Office of Public and Professional Guardians contracts with 15 local public guardian offices, and the one serving Polk County is the Tenth Circuit Public Guardian, reachable at 863-875-5626. A public guardian is a last resort: by law it serves only when no family member, friend, bank or corporation is willing and qualified, and it keeps looking for someone who can take over.

Professional guardians must register with the state, and complaints about a registered professional guardian go to a state hotline at 1-855-305-3030. If you are the only relative and live far away, you may still be able to serve with a local attorney's help, but the 8 hours of training and the annual reports are yours to complete.

If you are weighing a guardianship because a parent can no longer live alone, our local help questions list other Polk County agencies, and a free advisor can help you sort out care options while the legal side moves forward.

Related questions: Can a guardian move a parent into memory care? Does a power of attorney end at death? Can a parent revoke a health care surrogate?

Last verified: November 2026.