Florida runs guardianship reporting on the anniversary of your Letters of Guardianship, with a clerk audit behind every filing. Two deadlines catch new guardians: the inventory at 60 days and the annual accounting at 90 days after the reporting period.
Rule 5.696 prescribes a model form: a summary page plus five schedules. Every transaction of the period appears on one of them:
The summary’s arithmetic is the same equation every fiduciary accounting shares: starting balance + receipts − disbursements + adjustments = assets on hand. The clerk audits within 90 days of filing (§744.368(3)), so errors surface on a clock, not eventually.
If all the ward’s assets sit in designated depositories and the only activity is interest accrual, settlement deposits, or bank service charges, you may file a simplified accounting: the original or certified year-end statement from the institution plus a guardian’s statement under penalty of perjury that you have custody and control of the property. No attorney is required for the simplified filing — but note it still requires the financial institution’s certified statement, not your own spreadsheet.
One more exception worth knowing: if the ward’s only income is Social Security and you serve as representative payee, the annual accounting is not required for those funds.
Section 744.3678(3): you must obtain a receipt, canceled check, or other proof of payment for every expenditure, and preserve the proofs for 3 years after your discharge. They need not be filed with the court, but must be produced whenever the court orders inspection. Some circuits (e.g., Highlands County) require the year-end institution statements to accompany the accounting itself — check your circuit’s administrative orders.
Under §744.3685, if a guardian fails to file the annual accounting, the court orders the report filed within 15 days or shows cause why not. Noncompliance can end in contempt of court and a fine — which the guardian pays personally; it cannot be charged to the estate. The court can also remove the guardian. Late filings also usually mean the clerk’s audit and any court hearing collide with next year’s cycle.
The Guardian product calendars the anniversary-based deadlines and reconciles Schedule arithmetic before you file.
No more than 90 days after the end of the reporting period, which ends on the last day of the anniversary month of your Letters of Guardianship (§744.3678; Rules 5.695–5.696). The first accounting runs from the date the Letters were signed.
Schedule A receipts, B disbursements, C capital transactions and adjustments, D remuneration, and E assets on hand — plus a summary page, per Florida Probate Rule 5.696.
Only if all assets are in designated depositories and the only activity is interest, settlement deposits, or service charges (§744.3679). You file the institution’s certified year-end statement plus a perjury statement — and if the ward’s only income is Social Security with you as representative payee, no annual accounting is required for those funds.
The court can order filing within 15 days or a show-cause appearance; contempt and a personally-paid fine can follow (§744.3685), and removal is on the table. Calendar the 90-day deadline with a runway.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Rules vary by jurisdiction and change over time — confirm the specifics with the court, agency, or a qualified professional.