Lawyer for Legal Guardianship in Miami-Dade County
Protect Your Loved Ones Without Navigating the Legal Maze Alone.
Whether you are just beginning to explore guardianship or are currently facing a complex legal dispute, we provide the clarity and expertise you need to move forward. We help families in Coral Gables and across Miami-Dade secure their future with compassionate, results-driven legal counsel.
Maybe your parent is no longer safe managing her own finances. Maybe your child with a disability is about to turn 18, and the legal protections you’ve always had as a parent are about to disappear. Maybe someone you love had a stroke last week, and nobody has the authority to make decisions for them.
Whatever brought you here, you already understand the stakes. What you need now is a clear path forward—and a lawyer for legal guardianship who knows how to walk it with you. That’s exactly what a lawyer for legal guardianship does.
What Happens If You Don't Act For Your Loved One
Most people come to us knowing they need to protect someone they love—but having no idea what that actually requires in a Florida courtroom.
Guardianship is a court-supervised arrangement where a judge grants one person the legal authority to make decisions for another who can no longer make them safely on their own. Under Florida Statutes Chapter 744, that process involves petitions, a formal evaluation by a court-appointed examining committee, and a hearing before a Miami-Dade County Circuit Court judge.
Without it, the consequences are real. A parent with dementia has no one legally authorized to manage her accounts or consent to her care. An adult child with disabilities turns 18 and suddenly you can’t speak for them at a doctor’s appointment. A family member who never set up a power of attorney leaves everyone around them without legal standing to help. The longer you wait, the fewer options you have and in some cases, guardianship becomes the only option left.
Guardianship Situations We Handle in Coral Gables
Families come to us from all directions, and no two cases look exactly alike.
Parents of children with developmental disabilities in Coral Gables often don’t realize that the day their child turns 18, their automatic legal authority over medical and financial decisions ends entirely—sometimes finding out only when they’re standing in a doctor’s office being told they can’t consent. We help families get ahead of that moment, or recover from it.
Adult children watching a parent decline face a closing window. If your parent never set up a durable power of attorney while they had the capacity to do so, guardianship is often the only road left. We help Coral Gables families in filing the petition, navigating the court process, and getting legal authority in place as efficiently as Florida law allows.
Families with children who have lost both parents need someone in place fast. We work quickly and carefully to make sure every child has a recognized legal protector.
Sometimes a guardianship petition is filed for the wrong reasons—to control, not to protect. We represent people on both sides: families trying to protect someone they love, and individuals challenging a guardianship they believe is unnecessary or harmful.
What It's Like to Work With Feinstein & Mendez, P.A.
Every guardianship case starts with a conversation. Our leading attorneys, Brett Feinstein and Martha Mendez, make sure to take the time to understand your family’s situation before anything else—what’s already happened, what you’re most worried about, and what getting legal authority in place will actually make possible for the people you love.
From there, the firm handles the entire process. That means filing the petition, working with the court-appointed examining committee, preparing you for the incapacity hearing, and advocating for your family before a Miami-Dade County Circuit Court judge. And because guardianship doesn’t end when the order is issued, Feinstein & Mendez stays with you through every ongoing obligation—annual plans, court accountings, and any follow-up proceedings that arise.
Talk to a Coral Gables Guardianship Lawyer Today
You don’t have to figure this out alone. Whether you’re just starting to understand what guardianship requires or you’re already in the middle of a difficult situation, Feinstein & Mendez, P.A. is ready to help.
We serve families across Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, South Miami, Pinecrest, Hialeah, and the greater Miami-Dade area. Contact our Coral Gables office directly to speak with a lawyer for legal guardianship — and get a clear picture of what comes next.
Common Questions Clients Ask
My mom has dementia and never set up a power of attorney. What do we do?
Once someone loses mental capacity, they can no longer sign a power of attorney—which means guardianship is often the only legal option left. It’s a harder road than planning ahead would have been, but it’s a road that exists. We help Coral Gables families in exactly this position move forward with clarity instead of panic, so your loved one is in safe hands.
My child with a disability is turning 18 soon. Does anything change legally?
Everything changes. Under Florida Statutes § 744.3215, the day your child turns 18 their automatic legal protections as a minor end—even if they’ve never been able to manage decisions independently. If that birthday is coming up, now is the time to act.
Can one family member force guardianship on another?
They can try. Florida courts take these cases seriously, and the person who is the subject of the petition has legal rights throughout the process under Florida Statutes § 744.331. We represent people on both sides—those trying to protect someone they love, and those challenging a guardianship they believe is unnecessary or harmful.
We already have a guardian in place. Is the case closed?
Not exactly. Florida guardianship is court-supervised on an ongoing basis, which means annual plans, accountings, and periodic court filings for as long as the guardianship is active. We stay with our clients through those obligations so nothing slips through the cracks.
What does a guardianship cost, and who pays for it?
It depends on whether the case is straightforward or contested. Under Florida Statutes § 744.108, attorney fees can often be paid from the ward’s estate, so the cost doesn’t always fall entirely on the family. We give every Coral Gables client an honest picture of what to expect financially in the first conversation — before you’ve committed to anything.