It should be simple.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But the red tape is both thick and unrelenting. And the result is heartbreaking.<\/p>\n
For nearly a decade, Winter Garden resident Sonya Alvarez has battled Florida courts, an appointed guardian and even her own family members to gain guardianship of her father, David Pherai, who has Alzheimer\u2019s disease. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Alvarez had cared for her father since 2013. Pherai even named Alvarez as his primary pre-need guardian, and her son, Elijah Fuentes, as his secondary pre-need guardian.<\/p>\n
But Alvarez said in 2021, her brother, Raymond Pherai, took their father from his home. He filed for guardianship and also withdrew money from a joint bank account.<\/p>\n
Later in court, a judge deemed the family as dysfunctional and appointed a guardian to David Pherai.<\/p>\n
Suddenly, Alvarez\u2019s access to her father was gone.<\/p>\n
Today, she still is fighting to gain guardianship. And together with her husband, Sherwin, and ward advocate Hillary Hogue, Sonya Alvarez is fighting to reform Florida\u2019s guardianship laws. The Alvarezes and Hogue currently are trying to find a legislator to introduce a reform bill that would require guardianship hearings to take place in front of a small jury.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOur peers would hear the dispute, and they would decide whether that person should be in a guardianship, and if that\u2019s the case, whom they should go to,\u201d Hogue said.<\/p>\n
THE ISSUE<\/p>\n
In 2017, Raymond Pherai filed for guardianship of their father, but after David Pherai was deemed competent, the courts dismissed the case.<\/p>\n
After Raymond Pherai\u2019s attempt to place their father under a guardianship, David Pherai completed his pre-directive, naming Alvarez his primary pre-need guardian, and her son, Elijah Fuentes, as the secondary pre-need guardian.\u00a0<\/p>\n
From then until 2021, Alvarez claims neither she nor her father heard from him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That\u2019s when Raymond Pherai visited his father and never brought him home, once again filing for guardianship.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In court, the family was ruled dysfunctional. The judge appointed a professional guardian to him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything after that went downhill,\u201d Alvarez said. \u201cShe removed him from his home.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Furthermore, the appointed guardian took Alvarez to court to remove her name from the house\u2019s deed, claiming Alvarez shouldn\u2019t be the one overseeing the estate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The guardian was planning to sell his home and claimed he needed the money for his care, which includes health care, entertainment, trips and clothing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
With the help of her husband and family friends, Alvarez purchased the home once it was appraised and now is dealing with property-tax increases and higher interest rates.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But she bought the house so her father didn\u2019t have it stripped away from him. It\u2019s the place that brought him joy and still brings him comfort.\u00a0<\/p>\n
During that time, Alvarez\u2019s brother also decided to take her to court and remove her as the trustee over their father\u2019s trust and as manager of his company.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe trust and the LLC and every bank account that my dad owned was in my name,\u201d she said. \u201cMy dad thought that would protect him.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
But the court removed her rights to the trust, the LLC and did not name her guardian.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In 2023, Alvarez filed for a suggestion of capacity, which would have her father evaluated and deemed capacitated or not, allowing partial or full rights to be restored.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alvarez said a renowned Alzheimer\u2019s doctor interviewed her father and testified in court that he should have some of his rights restored.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His guardian fought that and said he should not have his rights restored.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201c(The court) took the word of a guardian and did not restore my dad\u2019s rights,\u201d Alvarez said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Five years later, Alvarez still is trying to gain guardianship of her father, like he intended it to be.\u00a0<\/p>\n
THE CHANGE<\/p>\n
Alvarez now is seeking reform with the help of her husband and Hogue, a guardianship advocate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hogue became an advocate after going through a similar experience with her father, battling the courts for years to gain guardianship of her father from her sister, who she claims was after his money.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe basically hit the lottery getting out of the guardianship in Florida,\u201d she said. \u201cMost people die in them. Instead of going back to a normal sense of life. \u2026 I have an obligation which I am fulfilling and that is to stop the madness that is going on in probate courts with our elderly and disabled residents of Florida.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
In probate courts, a judge makes the decisions. There is no jury.<\/p>\n
The Alvarezes and Hogue hope to introduce a bill that would have guardianship hearings take place in front of a jury. They hope jurors would conduct a fairer trial and rule in the elder\u2019s best interest, without monetary compensation being the leading factor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIn today\u2019s guardianship courts, unless your client is found to be incapacitated, you do not get paid,\u201d Hogue said. \u201cThe only way you get paid is if that person goes into guardianship.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She said that\u2019s why most elders end up in a guardianship in the first place.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Alvarezes and Hogue also are trying to ensure advanced directives, legally binding documents designating a person to speak for an individual who becomes incapacitated, are honored at all times.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAdvanced directives are a waste of money right now,\u201d Hogue said. \u201cEveryone is wasting their money because the judges never respect these documents.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
While legal binding paperwork is supposed to protect seniors when they are deemed incapacitated, it is overlooked in many guardianship cases, favoring the petitioner.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wanted to do a billboard when you drive into Florida, \u2018Beware of guardianship abuse,\u2019\u201dshe said. \u201cEveryone thinks \u2018That could never happen to me,\u2019 and when it does, it\u2019s too late because once that petition is filed, usually the only way out is through death.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
While the situation is complex, the reason for it is simple, Sonya Alvarez and Hogue said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The system simply is flawed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTo get a bill passed is like having the Pope convert to Judaism, it\u2019s just not happening,\u201d Hogue said. \u201cNothing is happening.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She said that is due to faulty mechanics in the system, including the lack of transparency in cases, lack of reachability and monetary incentives.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been going on for decade after decade after decade,\u201d Hogue said. \u201cThis could be stopped, but because they know no one is looking at it, they\u2019re getting away with it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
If the bill is passed, it would protect the seniors from being exploited, she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If the bill is passed, they hope more families will have the courage to speak up, with no ramifications.\u00a0<\/p>\n
THE FUTURE<\/p>\n
Today, Sonya Alvarez\u2019s father is under new guardianship after the Alvarezes and Hogue filed complaints about David Pherai\u2019s guardian, leading her to resign. \u00a0<\/p>\n
However, he now is under Sonya Alvarez\u2019s cousin\u2019s care after Raymond Pherai allegedly failed to pass his background check and asked their cousin to become his father\u2019s legal guardian, Sonya Alvarez said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sonya Alvarez was deemed a non-interest party in her father\u2019s care.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThey won\u2019t let me see my dad and they won\u2019t let him spend the night with me,\u201d Sonya Alvarez said. \u201cWe\u2019re talking about a person who has lived with me since 2013. I\u2019ve taken care of him every single day of my life. I did everything with him and now I don\u2019t see him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sonya Alvarez said her father visits his home and reminisces about his life there.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI just want to hold his hand,\u201d she said crying. \u201cHe\u2019ll be 90 years old this June, and I can\u2019t even spend the night with him.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
While a solution has yet to be found, the Alvarezes and Hogue are optimistic of what the future holds.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI gave up for a minute because I felt defeated,\u201d Sonya Alvarez said. \u201cBut I\u2019m not defeated anymore. I\u2019m going to try again. I\u2019m going to keep fighting for these seniors. I\u2019m not fighting just for my dad, I\u2019m fighting for everyone, including myself.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sonya Alvarez now intends to file a motion to be able to see her father more often, with her friends and family backing her up every step of the way.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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