Guardianship Education Video Fee Now Unrefundable
On Sept. 9, Chief Judge Langford ordered that the guardianship education video, which was previously available for rental from the Clerk of Court, now must be purchased for $75.00 (non-rerfundable). Peviously, the video was obtained with a deposit which was refunded when the video was returned. Watching the video is required by statute if one wishes to serve as a guardian of an adult or child in Florida. It covers the duties of a guardian. An affidavit must be submitted certifiying that the video has been viewed.
I can think of several possible motivations for the change. Perhaps the Clerk was losing money on unreturned videos. Perhaps the check-out system was overly burdensome. I can say from experience that guardianship clients will be shocked and amazed at the expense. (Mine were shocked and amazed at the expense when it was refundable!)
Many (but not all) government works are not protected by copyright. I wonder if the video, once purchased, could be copied by lawyers for their clients at minimal expense (the cost of a blank DVD-R), thereby saving the expense to clients and wards? In this case, I am not sure if the copyright in the video is held by the government or a private production company. I think it’s worth looking into if you do this type of work.
