Do I need to petition the court for termination of guardianship when my son turns 18?

[ecliptic]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida


My son turns 18 in September. I am his father and was appointed guardian over his share of my mother's inheritance (currently approx $60,000). The court has allowed me to file the annual accounting every year, but now the time has come to turn the money over to him. How do I do this without incurring several hundred, possible a thousand, dollars in legal fees? The one attorney I spoke to wants $500 just for starters! Ridiculous. I know the guardianship ends automatically when the child turns 18, so how do I give him the money and wrap this thing up with the court with MINIMUM expense?

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

Refer to page 86 for the petition to discharge and final accounting.


http://www.ninthcircuit.org/programs-services/court-resource-center/downloads/306fpr.pdf

 

[ecmst12]

$500 out of $60k doesn't sound like much.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

$500 out of $60k doesn't sound like much.

Actually, I was considering making dad guardian of my assets if I ever go off the deep end. He takes the job seriously.

 

[ecliptic]

$500 out of $60k doesn't sound like much.

$500 was just the retainer. I'm sure by the time we were finished, the bill would be well over $1000. And regardless of your opinion, that's a lot of money to me just to go over the accounting and file a couple of documents with the court. Like I said before, it's ridiculous. Attorneys are way overpaid for most services, in my experience. I have a college degree in a much more challenging field than law, and professionals in my field (astrophysics) are not paid nearly so well. Besides, why should the amount of my son's account determine the fee charged by an attorney? Are they getting paid by commission too? Most of the real crooks are not in the streets with guns. They are in the courts with suits. And possibly roaming this forum, I suspect.