Terms Used In Florida Statutes > Chapter 744 - Guardianship

• Access: means to approach, instruct, communicate with, store data in, retrieve data from, or otherwise make use of any resources of a computer, a computer system, a computer network, or an electronic device. See Florida Statutes 815.03
• Acquittal:
  1. Judgement that a criminal defendant has not been proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
  2. A verdict of "not guilty."
   
• Adult: means a person 18 years of age or older. See Florida Statutes 847.001
• Adult entertainment establishment: means the following terms as defined:
  (a) "Adult bookstore" means any corporation, partnership, or business of any kind which restricts or purports to restrict admission only to adults, which has as part of its stock books, magazines, other periodicals, videos, discs, or other graphic media and which offers, sells, provides, or rents for a fee any sexually oriented material. See Florida Statutes 847.001
• Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
• Agricultural chemicals manufacturing facility: means any facility, and any properties or structures associated with the facility, used for the manufacture, processing, or storage of agricultural chemicals classified in Industry Group 287 contained in the Standard Industrial Classification Manual, 1987, as published by the Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President. See Florida Statutes 810.011
• Allegation: something that someone says happened.
• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• Ammunition: means an object consisting of all of the following:
  (a) A fixed metallic or nonmetallic hull or casing containing a primer. See Florida Statutes 790.001
• Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
• Appraisal: A determination of property value.
• Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
• Arraignment: A proceeding in which an individual who is accused of committing a crime is brought into court, told of the charges, and asked to plead guilty or not guilty.
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• Attorney for the alleged incapacitated person: means an attorney who represents the alleged incapacitated person. See Florida Statutes 744.102
• Audit: means a systematic review of financial and all other documents to ensure compliance with…. See Florida Statutes 744.102
• Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
• Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. ^{Source: OCC}
• Benefits: means arrears of pay, bonus, pension, compensation, insurance, and all other moneys paid or payable by the United States through the United States Department of Veterans Affairs by reason of service in the Armed Forces of the United States. See Florida Statutes 744.604
• business entity: means any corporation, partnership, limited partnership, company, limited liability company, proprietorship, firm, enterprise, franchise, association, self-employed individual, or trust, whether fictitiously named or not, doing business in this state. See Florida Statutes 817.011
• Buyer: means any individual who is solicited to purchase, or who purchases, the services of a credit service organization. See Florida Statutes 817.7001
• Case law: The law as laid down in cases that have been decided in the decisions of the courts.
• Chief judge: The judge who has primary responsibility for the administration of a court but also decides cases; chief judges are determined by seniority.
• child: means any person, whose identity is known or unknown, younger than 18 years of age. See Florida Statutes 847.001
• Child pornography: means :
  (a) Any image depicting a minor engaged in sexual conduct; or
  (b) Any image that has been created, altered, adapted, or modified by electronic, mechanical, or other means, to portray an identifiable minor engaged in sexual conduct. See Florida Statutes 847.001
• Civil forfeiture: The loss of ownership of property used to conduct illegal activity.
• Clerk: means the clerk or deputy clerk of the court. See Florida Statutes 744.102
• Clerk of court: An officer appointed by the court to work with the chief judge in overseeing the court's administration, especially to assist in managing the flow of cases through the court and to maintain court records.
• Codicil: An addition, change, or supplement to a will executed with the same formalities required for the will itself.
• Commercial horticulture property: means any property that is cleared of its natural vegetation and is planted in commercially cultivated horticulture products that are planted, grown, or harvested. See Florida Statutes 810.011
• Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Computer: means an internally programmed, automatic device that performs data processing. See Florida Statutes 815.03
• Computer: means an electronic, magnetic, optical, electrochemical, or other high-speed data processing device performing logical, arithmetic, or storage functions and includes any data storage facility or communications facility directly related to or operating in conjunction with such device. See Florida Statutes 847.001
• Computer contaminant: means any set of computer instructions designed to modify, damage, destroy, record, or transmit information within a computer, computer system, or computer network without the intent or permission of the owner of the information. See Florida Statutes 815.03
• Computer network: means a system that provides a medium for communication between one or more computer systems or electronic devices, including communication with an input or output device such as a display terminal, printer, or other electronic equipment that is connected to the computer systems or electronic devices by physical or wireless telecommunication facilities. See Florida Statutes 815.03
• Computer system: means a device or collection of devices, including support devices, one or more of which contain computer programs, electronic instructions, or input data and output data, and which perform functions, including, but not limited to, logic, arithmetic, data storage, retrieval, communication, or control. See Florida Statutes 815.03
• Concealed firearm: means any firearm, as defined in subsection (9), which is carried on or about a person in such a manner as to conceal the firearm from the ordinary sight of another person. See Florida Statutes 790.001
• Concealed weapon: means any dirk, metallic knuckles, billie, tear gas gun, chemical weapon or device, or other deadly weapon carried on or about a person in such a manner as to conceal the weapon from the ordinary sight of another person. See Florida Statutes 790.001
• Consent: means intelligent, knowing, and voluntary consent and does not include coerced submission. See Florida Statutes 794.011
• Construction site: means any property upon which there is construction that is subject to building permit posting requirements. See Florida Statutes 810.011
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Conveyance: means any motor vehicle, ship, vessel, railroad vehicle or car, trailer, aircraft, or sleeping car; and "to enter a conveyance" includes taking apart any portion of the conveyance. See Florida Statutes 810.011
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Corporate guardian: means a corporation authorized to exercise fiduciary or guardianship powers in this state and includes a nonprofit corporate guardian. See Florida Statutes 744.102
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Court: means the circuit court. See Florida Statutes 744.102
• Court monitor: means a person appointed by the court under…. See Florida Statutes 744.102
• Credit counseling agency: means any organization providing debt management services or credit counseling services. See Florida Statutes 817.801
• Credit counseling services: means confidential money management, debt reduction, and financial educational services. See Florida Statutes 817.801
• Credit service organization: means any person who, with respect to the extension of credit by others, sells, provides, performs, or represents that he or she can or will sell, provide, or perform, in return for the payment of money or other valuable consideration, any of the following services:
  1. See Florida Statutes 817.7001
• Creditor contribution: means any sum that a creditor agrees to contribute to a credit counseling agency, whether directly or by setoff against amounts otherwise payable to the creditor on behalf of debtors. See Florida Statutes 817.801
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Data: means a representation of information, knowledge, facts, concepts, computer software, computer programs, or instructions. See Florida Statutes 815.03
• Debt management services: means services provided to a debtor by a credit counseling organization for a fee to:
  (a) Effect the adjustment, compromise, or discharge of any unsecured account, note, or other indebtedness of the debtor; or
  (b) Receive from the debtor and disburse to a creditor any money or other thing of value. See Florida Statutes 817.801
• Decedent: A deceased person.
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Deposition: An oral statement made before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths. Such statements are often taken to examine potential witnesses, to obtain discovery, or to be used later in trial.
• Deviate sexual intercourse: means sexual conduct between persons not married to each other consisting of contact between the penis and the anus, the mouth and the penis, or the mouth and the vulva. See Florida Statutes 847.001
• Devise: To gift property by will.
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. ^Source:
• Distributor: means any person engaged in the business of selling sparklers to a wholesaler. See Florida Statutes 791.01
• Division: means the Division of the State Fire Marshal of the Department of Financial Services. See Florida Statutes 791.01
• Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
• Donee: The recipient of a gift.
• Donor: The person who makes a gift.
• Dump: means to dump, throw, discard, place, deposit, or dispose of any litter. See Florida Statutes 810.011
• Dwelling: means a building or conveyance of any kind, including any attached porch, whether such building or conveyance is temporary or permanent, mobile or immobile, which has a roof over it and is designed to be occupied by people lodging therein at night, together with the curtilage thereof. See Florida Statutes 810.011
• Electronic device: means a device or a portion of a device that is designed for and capable of communicating across a computer network with other computers or devices for the purpose of transmitting, receiving, or storing data, including, but not limited to, a cellular telephone, tablet, or other portable device designed for and capable of communicating with or across a computer network and that is actually used for such purpose. See Florida Statutes 815.03
• Embezzlement: In most states, embezzlement is defined as theft/larceny of assets (money or property) by a person in a position of trust or responsibility over those assets. Embezzlement typically occurs in the employment and corporate settings. ^{Source: OCC}
• Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Escheat: Reversion of real or personal property to the state when 1) a person dies without leaving a will and has no heirs, or 2) when the property (such as a bank account) has been inactive for a certain period of time. ^{Source: OCC}
• Estate: means the property of a ward subject to administration. See Florida Statutes 744.102
• Estate: means income on hand and assets acquired in whole or in part with income. See Florida Statutes 744.604
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Explosive compound: means any chemical compound, mixture, or device the primary or common purpose of which is to function by the substantially instantaneous release of gas and heat. See Florida Statutes 791.01
• Extension of credit: means the right to defer payment of debt or to incur debt and defer its payment offered or granted primarily for personal, family, or household purposes. See Florida Statutes 817.7001
• Fair Credit Reporting Act: A federal law, established in 1971 and revised in 1997, that gives consumers the right to see their credit records and correct any mistakes. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fair Debt Collection Practices Act: The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is a set of United States statutes added as Title VIII of the Consumer Credit Protection Act. Its purpose is to ensure ethical practices in the collection of consumer debts and to provide consumers with an avenue for disputing and obtaining validation of debt information in order to ensure the information's accuracy. It is often used in conjunction with the Fair Credit Reporting Act. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
• Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation: A government corporation that insures the deposits of all national and state banks that are members of the Federal Reserve System. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fee simple: Absolute title to property with no limitations or restrictions regarding the person who may inherit it.
• Female genitals: includes the labia minora, labia majora, clitoris, vulva, hymen, and vagina. See Florida Statutes 847.001
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• Firearm: means any weapon (including a starter gun) which will, is designed to, or may readily be converted to expel a projectile by the action of an explosive; the frame or receiver of any such weapon; any firearm muffler or firearm silencer; any destructive device; or any machine gun. See Florida Statutes 790.001
• Fireworks: means and includes any combustible or explosive composition or substance or combination of substances or, except as hereinafter provided, any article prepared for the purpose of producing a visible or audible effect by combustion, explosion, deflagration, or detonation. See Florida Statutes 791.01
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• Foreign guardian: means a guardian appointed in another state or country. See Florida Statutes 744.102
• Forgery: The fraudulent signing or alteration of another's name to an instrument such as a deed, mortgage, or check. The intent of the forgery is to deceive or defraud. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Garnishment: Generally, garnishment is a court proceeding in which a creditor asks a court to order a third party who owes money to the debtor or otherwise holds assets belonging to the debtor to turn over to the creditor any of the debtor
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Grantor: The person who establishes a trust and places property into it.
• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• Guardian: means a person who has been appointed by the court to act on behalf of a ward's person or property, or both. See Florida Statutes 744.102
• Guardian: means any person acting as a fiduciary for a ward's person or the ward's estate, or both. See Florida Statutes 744.604
• Guardian ad litem: means a person who is appointed by the court having jurisdiction of the guardianship or a court in which a particular legal matter is pending to represent a ward in that proceeding. See Florida Statutes 744.102
• Guardian advocate: means a person appointed by a written order of the court to represent a person with developmental disabilities under…. See Florida Statutes 744.102
• Harmful to minors: means any reproduction, imitation, characterization, description, exhibition, presentation, or representation, of whatever kind or form, depicting nudity, sexual conduct, or sexual excitement when it:
  (a) Predominantly appeals to a prurient, shameful, or morbid interest;
  (b) Is patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community as a whole with respect to what is suitable material or conduct for minors; and
  (c) Taken as a whole, is without serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors. See Florida Statutes 847.001
• Identifiable minor: means a person:
  (a) Who was a minor at the time the image was created, altered, adapted, or modified, or whose image as a minor was used in the creating, altering, adapting, or modifying of the image; and
  (b) Who is recognizable as an actual person by the person's face, likeness, or other distinguishing characteristic, such as a unique birthmark, or other recognizable feature. See Florida Statutes 847.001
• Incapacitated person: means a person who has been judicially determined to lack the capacity to manage at least some of the property or to meet at least some of the essential health and safety requirements of the person. See Florida Statutes 744.102
• Income: means moneys received from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs as benefits, and revenue or profit from any property acquired in whole or in part with such moneys. See Florida Statutes 744.604
• Indictment: The formal charge issued by a grand jury stating that there is enough evidence that the defendant committed the crime to justify having a trial; it is used primarily for felonies.
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Intangible property: Property that has no intrinsic value, but is merely the evidence of value such as stock certificates, bonds, and promissory notes.
• Intellectual property: means data, including programs. See Florida Statutes 815.03
• Inter vivos: Transfer of property from one living person to another living person.
• Intestate: Dying without leaving a will.
• Joint tenancy: A form of property ownership in which two or more parties hold an undivided interest in the same property that was conveyed under the same instrument at the same time. A joint tenant can sell his (her) interest but not dispose of it by will. Upon the death of a joint tenant, his (her) undivided interest is distributed among the surviving joint tenants.
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Law enforcement officer: means :
  (a) All officers or employees of the United States or the State of Florida, or any agency, commission, department, board, division, municipality, or subdivision thereof, who have authority to make arrests;
  (b) Officers or employees of the United States or the State of Florida, or any agency, commission, department, board, division, municipality, or subdivision thereof, duly authorized to carry a concealed weapon;
  (c) Members of the Armed Forces of the United States, the organized reserves, state militia, or Florida National Guard, when on duty, when preparing themselves for, or going to or from, military duty, or under orders;
  (d) An employee of the state prisons or correctional systems who has been so designated by the Department of Corrections or by a warden of an institution;
  (e) All peace officers;
  (f) All state attorneys and United States attorneys and their respective assistants and investigators. See Florida Statutes 790.001
• Lawsuit: A legal action started by a plaintiff against a defendant based on a complaint that the defendant failed to perform a legal duty, resulting in harm to the plaintiff.
• Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Limited guardian: means a guardian who has been appointed by the court to exercise the legal rights and powers specifically designated by court order entered after the court has found that the ward lacks the capacity to do some, but not all, of the tasks necessary to care for his or her person or property, or after the person has voluntarily petitioned for appointment of a limited guardian. See Florida Statutes 744.102
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Litter: means any garbage, rubbish, trash, refuse, debris, can, bottle, box, container, paper, tobacco product, tire, domestic or commercial appliance, mechanical equipment or part, building or construction material, tool, machinery, wood, motor vehicle or motor vehicle part, vessel, aircraft, or farm machinery or equipment; sludge from a waste treatment facility, water supply treatment plant, or air pollution control facility; or substance in any form resulting from domestic, industrial, commercial, mining, agricultural, or governmental operations. See Florida Statutes 810.011
• manage property: means to take those actions necessary to obtain, administer, and dispose of real and personal property, intangible property, business property, benefits, and income. See Florida Statutes 744.102
• Manufacturer: means any person engaged in the manufacture or construction of sparklers in this state. See Florida Statutes 791.01
• Mentally defective: means a mental disease or defect which renders a person temporarily or permanently incapable of appraising the nature of his or her conduct. See Florida Statutes 794.011
• Minor: means a person under 18 years of age whose disabilities have not been removed by marriage or otherwise. See Florida Statutes 744.102
• minor: includes any person who has not attained the age of 18 years. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Mortgagee: The person to whom property is mortgaged and who has loaned the money.
• National Bank: A bank that is subject to the supervision of the Comptroller of the Currency. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is a bureau of the U.S. Treasury Department. A national bank can be recognized because it must have "national" or "national association" in its name. ^{Source: OCC}
• National Credit Union Administration: The federal regulatory agency that charters and supervises federal credit unions. (NCUA also administers the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, which insures the deposits of federal credit unions.) ^{Source: OCC}
• Next of kin: means those persons who would be heirs at law of the ward or alleged incapacitated person if the person were deceased and includes the lineal descendants of the ward or alleged incapacitated person. See Florida Statutes 744.102
• Nolo contendere: No contest-has the same effect as a plea of guilty, as far as the criminal sentence is concerned, but may not be considered as an admission of guilt for any other purpose.
• Nudity: means the showing of the human male or female genitals, pubic area, or buttocks with less than a fully opaque covering; or the showing of the female breast with less than a fully opaque covering of any portion thereof below the top of the nipple; or the depiction of covered male genitals in a discernibly turgid state. See Florida Statutes 847.001
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• oath: includes affirmations. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Obscene: means the status of material which:
  (a) The average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest;
  (b) Depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct as specifically defined herein; and
  (c) Taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value. See Florida Statutes 847.001
• Offender: means a person accused of a sexual offense in violation of a provision of this chapter. See Florida Statutes 794.011
• Office of Economic and Demographic Research: means an entity designated by joint rule of the Legislature or by agreement between the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability: means an entity designated by joint rule of the Legislature or by agreement between the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Person: includes individuals, children, firms, associations, joint ventures, partnerships, estates, trusts, business trusts, syndicates, fiduciaries, corporations, and all other groups or combinations. See Florida Statutes 847.001
• Person: means an individual, a partnership, a corporation, or an association. See Florida Statutes 744.604
• Person: means any individual, corporation, partnership, trust, association, or other legal entity. See Florida Statutes 817.801
• person: includes individuals, children, firms, associations, joint adventures, partnerships, estates, trusts, business trusts, syndicates, fiduciaries, corporations, and all other groups or combinations. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Physically helpless: means unconscious, asleep, or for any other reason physically unable to communicate unwillingness to an act. See Florida Statutes 794.011
• Physically incapacitated: means bodily impaired or handicapped and substantially limited in ability to resist or flee. See Florida Statutes 794.011
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
• Pleadings: Written statements of the parties in a civil case of their positions. In the federal courts, the principal pleadings are the complaint and the answer.
• Plenary guardian: means a person who has been appointed by the court to exercise all delegable legal rights and powers of the ward after the court has found that the ward lacks the capacity to perform all of the tasks necessary to care for his or her person or property. See Florida Statutes 744.102
• political subdivision: include counties, cities, towns, villages, special tax school districts, special road and bridge districts, bridge districts, and all other districts in this state. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. ^{Source: OCC}
• Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
• Preliminary hearing: A hearing where the judge decides whether there is enough evidence to make the defendant have a trial.
• Preneed guardian: means a person named in a written declaration to serve as guardian in the event of the incapacity of the declarant as provided in…. See Florida Statutes 744.102
• Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
• Probate: Proving a will
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• Professional guardian: means any guardian who has at any time rendered services to three or more wards as their guardian. See Florida Statutes 744.102
• Promote: means to procure, manufacture, issue, sell, give, provide, lend, mail, deliver, transfer, transmit, transmute, publish, distribute, circulate, disseminate, present, exhibit, send, post, share, or advertise or to offer or agree to do the same. See Florida Statutes 847.001
• Property: means anything of value as defined in…. See Florida Statutes 815.03
• Property: means both real and personal property or any interest in it and anything that may be the subject of ownership. See Florida Statutes 744.102
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Public defender: Represent defendants who can't afford an attorney in criminal matters.
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Recess: A temporary interruption of the legislative business.
• registered mail: includes certified mail with return receipt requested. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• Retailer: means any person who, at a fixed place of business, is engaged in selling sparklers to consumers at retail. See Florida Statutes 791.01
• reverse vending machine: means a machine into which empty beverage containers are deposited for recycling and which provides a payment of money, merchandise, vouchers, or other incentives. See Florida Statutes 849.16
• Right of survivorship: The ownership rights that result in the acquisition of title to property by reason of having survived other co-owners.
• Sadomasochistic abuse: means flagellation or torture by or upon a person or animal, or the condition of being fettered, bound, or otherwise physically restrained, for the purpose of deriving sexual satisfaction, or satisfaction brought about as a result of sadistic violence, from inflicting harm on another or receiving such harm oneself. See Florida Statutes 847.001
• Seasonal retailer: means any person engaged in the business of selling sparklers at retail in this state from June 20 through July 5 and from December 10 through January 2 of each year. See Florida Statutes 791.01
• Secretary: means the Secretary of Veterans Affairs as head of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs or her or his successor. See Florida Statutes 744.604
• Serious personal injury: means great bodily harm or pain, permanent disability, or permanent disfigurement. See Florida Statutes 794.011
• Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
• Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
• Sexual battery: means oral, anal, or female genital penetration by, or union with, the sexual organ of another or the anal or female genital penetration of another by any other object; however, sexual battery does not include an act done for a bona fide medical purpose. See Florida Statutes 794.011
• Sexual battery: means oral, anal, or female genital penetration by, or union with, the sexual organ of another or the anal or female genital penetration of another by any other object; however, "sexual battery" does not include an act done for a bona fide medical purpose. See Florida Statutes 847.001
• Sexual bestiality: means any sexual act, actual or simulated, between a person and an animal involving the sex organ of the one and the mouth, anus, or female genitals of the other. See Florida Statutes 847.001
• Sexual conduct: means actual or simulated sexual intercourse, deviate sexual intercourse, sexual bestiality, masturbation, or sadomasochistic abuse; actual or simulated lewd exhibition of the genitals; actual physical contact with a person's clothed or unclothed genitals, pubic area, buttocks, or, if such person is a female, breast with the intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of either party; or any act or conduct which constitutes sexual battery or simulates that sexual battery is being or will be committed. See Florida Statutes 847.001
• Sexual excitement: means the condition of the human male or female genitals when in a state of sexual stimulation or arousal. See Florida Statutes 847.001
• Sexually oriented material: means any book, article, magazine, publication, or written matter of any kind or any drawing, etching, painting, photograph, motion picture film, or sound recording that depicts sexual activity, actual or simulated, involving human beings or human beings and animals, that exhibits uncovered human genitals or the pubic region in a lewd or lascivious manner, or that exhibits human male genitals in a discernibly turgid state, even if completely and opaquely covered. See Florida Statutes 847.001
• Simulated: means the explicit depiction of conduct described in subsection (19) which creates the appearance of such conduct and which exhibits any uncovered portion of the breasts, genitals, or buttocks. See Florida Statutes 847.001
• slot machine or device: includes , but is not limited to, devices regulated as slot machines pursuant to chapter 551. See Florida Statutes 849.16
• Sparkler: means a device which emits showers of sparks upon burning, does not contain any explosive compounds, does not detonate or explode, is handheld or ground based, cannot propel itself through the air, and contains not more than 100 grams of the chemical compound which produces sparks upon burning. See Florida Statutes 791.01
• Specific sexual activities: includes the following sexual activities and the exhibition of the following anatomical areas:
  (a) Human genitals in the state of sexual stimulation or arousal. See Florida Statutes 847.001
• Standby guardian: means a person empowered to assume the duties of guardianship upon the death or adjudication of incapacity of the last surviving natural or appointed guardian. See Florida Statutes 744.102
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Statute of limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.
• structure: means any building of any kind, any enclosed area with a roof over it, any real property and appurtenances thereto, any tent or other portable building, and any vehicle, vessel, watercraft, or aircraft. See Florida Statutes 806.01
• Structure: means a building of any kind, either temporary or permanent, which has a roof over it, together with the curtilage thereof. See Florida Statutes 810.011
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• Surrogate guardian: means a guardian designated according to…. See Florida Statutes 744.102
• Temporary restraining order: Prohibits a person from an action that is likely to cause irreparable harm. This differs from an injunction in that it may be granted immediately, without notice to the opposing party, and without a hearing. It is intended to last only until a hearing can be held.
• Tenancy by the entirety: A type of joint tenancy between husband and wife that is recognized in some States. Neither party can sever the joint tenancy relationship; when a spouse dies, the survivor acquires full title to the property.
• Testate: To die leaving a will.
• Testator: A male person who leaves a will at death.
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
• Totally incapacitated: means incapable of exercising any of the rights enumerated in…. See Florida Statutes 744.102
• Transcript: A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial or during some other conversation, as in a transcript of a hearing or oral deposition.
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Trust account: A general term that covers all types of accounts in a trust department, such as estates, guardianships, and agencies. ^{Source: OCC}
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Uniform Commercial Code: A set of statutes enacted by the various states to provide consistency among the states' commercial laws. It includes negotiable instruments, sales, stock transfers, trust and warehouse receipts, and bills of lading. ^{Source: OCC}
• United States Department of Veterans Affairs: means the United States Department of Veterans Affairs or its predecessors or successors. See Florida Statutes 744.604
• Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
• Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.
• veteran: means a person who served in the active military, naval, or air service and who was discharged or released under honorable conditions only or who later received an upgraded discharge under honorable conditions, notwithstanding any action by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs on individuals discharged or released with other than honorable discharges. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• Victim: means a person who has been the object of a sexual offense. See Florida Statutes 794.011
• Victim Impact Statement: A written or spoken statement by the victim or his or her representative about the physical, emotional, and financial impact of a crime on the victim. The statement is given to the court before sentencing.
• Ward: means a person for whom a guardian has been appointed. See Florida Statutes 744.102
• Ward: means a beneficiary of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. See Florida Statutes 744.604
• Weapon: means any dirk, knife, metallic knuckles, slungshot, billie, tear gas gun, chemical weapon or device, or other deadly weapon except a firearm or a common pocketknife, plastic knife, or blunt-bladed table knife. See Florida Statutes 790.001
• Wholesaler: means any person engaged in the business of selling sparklers to a retailer. See Florida Statutes 791.01
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.
• writing: includes handwriting, printing, typewriting, and all other methods and means of forming letters and characters upon paper, stone, wood, or other materials. See Florida Statutes 1.01