TRACY PHILLIPS
v.
LANETTE BEMBRY, AS PLENARY GUARDIAN OF THE PERSON AND PROPERTY OF J. B. B., AN INCAPACITATED PERSON AND TROY BUZZO
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
A daughter of an incapacitated person is not an interested person for purposes of challenging attorney fees in a guardianship proceeding based solely on her status as next of kin and potential heir.
[1] Being next of kin or a potential heir does not, by itself, confer interested person status in a guardianship proceeding; an interested person must be someone who may reas…
Previewing 1 of 1 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“There must be a balance between ensuring that petitions for attorney's fees are carefully scrutinized and ensuring that these petitions are not subject to endless challenges by those whose only interest is to maximize their potential inheritance.”
Court's reasoning for denying Phillips standing based on Hayes v. Guardianship of Thompson
Tracy Phillips appealed a trial court decision in a guardianship matter for J.B.B., an incapacitated person, challenging attorney fees awarded in conn…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Plenary Guardianship cases and more on FLexlaw
SIXTH DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL
STATE OF FLORIDA
Case No. 6D2026-0203 Lower Tribunal No. 2024-CP-003094
IN RE: Guardianship of J.B.B., an incapacitated person.
TRACY PHILLIPS, Appellant,
V.
LANETTE BEMBRY, as plenary guardian of J.B.B., an incapacitated person, and TROY BUZZO, Appellees.
Appeal from the Circuit Court for Polk County. Susan L. Barber, Judge.
September 10, 2026
PER CURIAM.
We affirm the trial court's determination that Tracy Phillips (“Phillips"), the daughter of J.B.B., was not an interested person for the purposes of the attorney fee hearing. Hayes v. Guardianship of Thompson, 952 So. 2d 498, 509 (Fla. 2006) (explaining that "[t]here must be a balance between ensuring that petitions for attorney's fees are carefully scrutinized and ensuring that these petitions are not subject to endless challenges by those whose only interest is to maximize their potential inheritance."); Hernandez v. Hernandez, 230 So. 3d 119, 123 (Fla. 3d DCA 2017) (explaining that by itself, being next of kin does not confer interested person status, but rather an interested person is "any person who may reasonably be expected to be affected by the outcome of the particular proceeding involved." (quoting § 731.201(23), Fla. Stat. (2016))). As to all other issues raised with the attorney fee award, we dismiss for lack of standing.
AFFIRMED in part; DISMISSED in part.
TRAVER, C.J., and NARDELLA and MIZE, JJ., concur.
Tracy Phillips, Oro Valley, Arizona, pro se.
Keith D. Miller, of Boswell & Dunlap, LLP, Bartow, for Appellee, Troy Buzzo.
No Appearance for Appellee, Lanette Bembry, as plenary guardian of J.B.B., an incapacitated person.
NOT FINAL UNTIL TIME EXPIRES TO FILE MOTION FOR REHEARING
AND DISPOSITION THEREOF IF TIMELY FILED
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Hayes v. Guardianship OF Mae E. Thompson, 952 So. 2d 498 (Fla. 2006)
- Hernandez v. Eusebio G. Hernandez, 230 So. 3d 119 (Fla. 3d DCA 2017)