MACY KATHERINE BETZOLD WHEELOCK, ETC.
v.
IN RE: GUARDIANSHIP OF YVONNE BETZOLD
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Macy Katherine Betzold Wheelock appeals a circuit court order awarding attorney's fees to the Guardianship Estate of Yvonne Betzold under Florida Statute section 744.108. Wheelock challenges both the entitlement to fees for appellate work and the reasonableness of the amount awarded. The court affirms the entitlement to fees but reverses and remands the fee amount for proper findings and analysis.
The court affirmed that the Guardianship Estate is entitled to attorney's fees for appellate work under section 744.108, but reversed and remanded the amount awarded because the circuit court failed to make specific findings addressing objections and applying the reasonableness factors in section 744.108(2).
[1] A guardianship estate may recover attorney's fees under section 744.108 for appellate defense work without having obtained prior approval under section 744.441.
[2] When awarding attorney's fees in guardianship matters, the trial court must make specific findings addressing the reasonableness factors in section 744.108(2) to provide…
Previewing 2 of 2 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“In order to provide for meaningful appellate review the order awarding fees . . . should specifically set out the record basis for the award . . . .”
Jones v. Dunning, 661 So. 2d 941, 942 (Fla. 5th DCA 1995), cited for the requirement that courts make specific findings to support attorney's fee awards.
The Guardianship Estate sought attorney's fees in connection with appellate work. Wheelock objected during an evidentiary hearing, raising questions a…
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Opinion filed October 27, 2021. Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.
________________ Nos. 3D20-1501 and 3D20-1502 Lower Tribunal Nos. 14-4101, 14-4787 ________________ Macy Katherine Betzold Wheelock, etc.,
Appellant,
vs.
In re: Guardianship of Yvonne Betzold, Appellee.
Appeals from the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, Yvonne Colodny, Judge. Law Offices of Roy R. Lustig, P.A., and Roy R. Lustig; Law Offices of Joy Maxwell Carr, and Joy Maxwell Carr, for appellant. Joyce Law, P.A., and Richard F. Joyce, for appellee. Before FERNANDEZ, C.J., and LINDSEY, and BOKOR, JJ. PER CURIAM.
Appellant Macy Katherine Betzold Wheelock appeals the circuit court’s order granting attorney’s fees in favor of Appellee the Guardianship Estate under section 744.108, Florida Statutes (2021).
Wheelock challenges the court’s order on two grounds. First, she argues that the Guardianship Estate is not entitled to attorney’s fees for any appellate work because it did not obtain approval to defend appeals as required by section 744.441. Second, she argues that the court’s order is deficient because it did not address objections raised during the evidentiary hearing or make specific findings to support the reasonableness of the amount awarded.
We affirm without further discussion on the issue of entitlement, but reverse and remand the amount of fees awarded. To determine the reasonableness of the amount, the court must be guided by section 744.108(2). See Jones v. Dunning, 661 So. 2d 941, 942 (Fla. 5th DCA 1995) (“In order to provide for meaningful appellate review the order awarding fees . . . should specifically set out the record basis for the award . . . .”).
Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded.