LADONNA HUDKINS vs MATTHEW L. HUDKINS, GUARDIAN OF THE PERSON AND THE PROPERTY OF THE WARD, KEITH L. HUDKINS, 21-3094

LaDonna Hudkins (Appellant) held durable powers of attorney (2018 & 2020 POAs) for her husband, Ward Keith L. Hudkins, after their 2017 marriage.
While the Ward was alive, title to a Cape Canaveral condominium was moved from him individually to tenancy by the entirety, then to a Joint Trust, and later (using the POAs) into Appellant’s individual trust; the condo was put up for sale and sold during the proceedings.
The Ponte Vedra home was converted from tenants by the entirety into Appellant’s individual trust via POA transactions; Appellant sought Medicaid eligibility by shifting assets.
The Ward’s son (Guardian/Appellee) filed petitions to determine incapacity, appoint an emergency temporary guardian, and later for appointment of a plenary guardian, alleging dementia and asset misappropriation.
The trial court found the Ward totally incapacitated (Order Determining Total Incapacity) and later appointed the son as plenary guardian, ordering Appellant to transfer title to the Ponte Vedra home to the Guardian for the Ward’s benefit and to place all condo-sale proceeds in a guardianship account.
On appeal, the district court dismissed the challenge to incapacity as untimely, reversed the forced transfer of the Ponte Vedra home, reversed the unconditional allocation of condo proceeds (due process violation), and remanded those issues for further proceedings; it affirmed other aspects of the plenary-guardian order.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Timeliness/jurisdiction to review Order Determining Total Incapacity	Hudkins: order did not finally adjudicate rights so she could not timely appeal	Guardian: order determining incapacity is final under Fla. R. App. P. 9.170 and appealable within 30 days	Appeal of incapacity order untimely; appellate court lacks jurisdiction; claim dismissed
Transfer of Ponte Vedra home title to Guardian for Ward’s benefit	Hudkins: court lacked authority to force transfer of entireties/joint-interest property to Guardian without her consent	Guardian: transfers were self‑serving; court acted to protect Ward and preserve assets	Error to order transfer of entireties/joint-interest property to Guardian without spouse’s consent; reversal and remand to allow guardian to seek appropriate relief (injunction or independent action)
Allocation of Cape Canaveral condo sale proceeds to guardianship account	Hudkins: deprived of procedural due process; court adjudicated allocation without the hearing agreed to	Guardian: court may authorize guardian to use joint trust assets for ward’s benefit	Reversed: joint-asset allocation ordered without adequate notice/hearing; Appellant entitled to meaningful opportunity to be heard; remanded

Giller v. Giller, 319 So. 3d 690 (Fla. 3d DCA 2021) (Rule 9.170 identifies orders that finally determine incapacity and are appealable)
Bank of N.Y. Mellon for Certificateholders of CWABS, Inc. v. Swain, 217 So. 3d 226 (Fla. 5th DCA 2017) (notice-of-appeal deadline controls appellate jurisdiction)
McGilton v. Millman, 868 So. 2d 1259 (Fla. 4th DCA 2004) (guardian may be authorized to pursue rescission of pre-guardianship transactions)
Romano v. Olshen, 153 So. 3d 912 (Fla. 4th DCA 2014) (entireties ownership prevents transfer without nonincapacitated spouse’s consent)
Zelman v. Zelman, 170 So. 3d 838 (Fla. 4th DCA 2015) (guardianship transfers of jointly owned assets require notice and meaningful opportunity to be heard)
Scull v. State, 569 So. 2d 1251 (Fla. 1990) (due process requires hearing and adversarial consideration before judgment)