HB 737 Florida House · 2026 Regular Session

Persons Disqualified from Being Appointed as a Guardian

Summary

Persons Disqualified from Being Appointed as a Guardian; Authorizes court to appoint person who has been convicted of felony to be guardian of proposed ward; requires court to consider imposing additional requirements on certain guardians to safeguard proposed ward & his or her property; authorizes court to deny appointment as guardian if it determines appointment would place proposed ward, or his or her property, at risk.

Bill status died 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Dec 2025

Committee Review

Feb 2026

House Passage

Feb 2026

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Dec 10, 2025 Last action Mar 13, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

H 737 c1 → H 737 c2 · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to narrow the eligibility for appointing guardians who have been convicted of a felony. The original version allowed any qualifying family member to be appointed after a 10-year waiting period, while the new version restricts this exception strictly to parents of the proposed ward. Additionally, the amendment adds specific requirements for courts to impose safeguards, such as bonds and budget approvals, to protect the ward's assets.

Scope change

The scope of eligibility for felony-convicted guardians was narrowed from a broad list of family members to only parents.

ELIGIBILITY

The exception allowing a felon to serve as a guardian was changed from applying to parents, children, siblings, spouses, grandparents, or grandchildren to applying only to parents.

The waiting period for a felon to be eligible was clarified to require that all terms of the sentence, including fines, restitution, and parole, be completed at least 10 years before the application is filed.

A new exclusion was added stating that the felony conviction cannot involve financial exploitation, breach of fiduciary duty, or offenses against vulnerable adults.

REQUIREMENT

Courts are now required to consider imposing additional safeguards, such as requiring a bond or approving a budget, for guardians appointed under the felony exception.

Floor votes · House Feb 25, 2026

How they voted

117–0

Passed · 1 other

Total votes 118

Feb 25, 2026

D Democratic34

33 Yea 1

97% Yea

R Republican84

84 Yea

100% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 26, 2026

Committee

Referred to Rules

upper

Feb 25, 2026

Lower · Passed

CS passed; YEAS 116, NAYS 0

lower

Feb 18, 2026

Committee

Bill referred to House Calendar

lower

Feb 17, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported out of Judiciary Committee

lower

Feb 17, 2026

Lower · Passed

Favorable with CS by Judiciary Committee

lower

Feb 13, 2026

Lower · Passed

Added to Judiciary Committee agenda

lower

Feb 6, 2026

Lower · Passed

Now in Judiciary Committee

lower

Feb 6, 2026

Committee

Referred to Judiciary Committee

lower

Feb 4, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported out of Human Services Subcommittee

lower

Feb 4, 2026

Lower · Passed

Favorable with CS by Human Services Subcommittee

lower

Feb 2, 2026

Lower · Passed

Added to Human Services Subcommittee agenda

lower

Jan 21, 2026

Lower · Passed

Now in Human Services Subcommittee

lower

Jan 21, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported out of Civil Justice & Claims Subcommittee

lower

Jan 21, 2026

Lower · Passed

Favorable by Civil Justice & Claims Subcommittee

lower

Jan 16, 2026

Lower · Passed

Added to Civil Justice & Claims Subcommittee agenda

lower

Dec 16, 2025

Lower · Passed

Now in Civil Justice & Claims Subcommittee

lower

Dec 16, 2025

Committee

Referred to Judiciary Committee

lower

Dec 16, 2025

Committee

Referred to Human Services Subcommittee

lower

Dec 16, 2025

Committee

Referred to Civil Justice & Claims Subcommittee

lower

1 primary · 3 co-sponsors