Fla. Prob. R. 5.540 · Part III. — GUARDIANSHIP
HEARINGS
Text — October 1, 2026 edition
(a) Application. All hearings under chapter 744 and under section 393.12, Florida Statutes, shall be open unless the alleged incapacitated person, adjudicated ward, or person alleged to have a developmental disability elects to have the hearing closed.
(b) Election. An election to close a hearing may be made before the hearing by filing a written notice. Subject to the court’s approval, an election to close or reopen a hearing may be made at any time during the hearing by oral or written motion.
Notes and commentary — not rule text
Committee Notes
This rule permits an alleged incapacitated person, adjudicated ward, or person alleged to have a developmental disability to elect to have all hearings open or closed at any time by oral or written election.
Rule History
1991 Revision: New rule.
1992 Revision: Committee notes revised.
2008 Revision: Subdivision (a) amended to include persons with a developmental disability. Committee notes revised. Statutory References § 393.12, Fla. Stat. Capacity; appointment of guardian advocate. § 744.1095, Fla. Stat. Hearings. § 744.3085, Fla. Stat. Guardian advocates. Rule Reference Fla. Prob. R. 5.541 Recording of hearings.
Source of truth
- Edition
- October 1, 2026 edition
- Official file
- https://www-media.floridabar.org/uploads/2026/10/Probate-Rules-10-01-26.pdf (PDF pages 231–232)
- Text hash
- sha256 30e6b784d4eaee2d2097e61e30855456273ab050dfdd809114d32e4638ae3ea7
- Composed by
- compose_book.py 2026-10-03: pypdfium2 primary, PyMuPDF check, PDF bookmarks as the inventory
This rule cites
Provisions in this library that the text above cites, as it prints each citation. A range cited as “ss. 61.13-61.16” links its first and last provisions.
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.