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Guardianship

Top-Ranked Guardianship Lawyers in Vero Beach, Florida

Updated Methodology LexRank v1.210 lawyers rankedReviewed by LexRanked editorial team

Summary

As of November 1, 2026, the top-ranked guardianship lawyers in Vero Beach, Florida are Charles Hughes Sanford (LexRank 76.40), Carolyn Butler Norton (76.13) and Lisa Thompson Barnes (75.00).

This ranking lists 10 guardianship lawyers in Vero Beach, Florida, in order of their LexRank score, calculated from their Florida Bar records and other cited sources. Their experience ranges from 5 to 41 years in practice. 1 of the 10 lists Spanish on their Florida Bar profile.

Lawyers ranked
10
Fully verified
10 of 10

The ranking

Ordered by organic LexRank score; paid placements are labelled and never affect a position. How we rank

  1. No change

    Charles Hughes Sanford

    Independent practice · Vero Beach, FL

    Verified
    • 22 years experience
    • Guardianship
    • Bar status verified
    View profile
    Why #1?

    Ranks #1 with 76.40: strongest in Practice-area relevance (20/20) and Experience (26.4/30); held back by Reputation (0/20).

    Strongest

    • Practice-area relevance 20/20 (ranking avg 16.7)
    • Experience 26.4/30 (ranking avg 22.6)

    Held back by

    • Reputation 0/20 (ranking avg 0.4)
  2. No change

    Carolyn Butler Norton

    Independent practice · Vero Beach, FL

    Verified
    • 24 years experience
    • Elder Law · Guardianship
    • Bar status verified
    View profile
    Why #2?

    Ranks #2 with 76.13: strongest in Experience (28.8/30) and Reputation (4/20); held back by Practice-area relevance (13.3/20). 0.27 points behind #1, mostly practice-area relevance.

    Strongest

    • Experience 28.8/30 (ranking avg 22.6)
    • Reputation 4/20 (ranking avg 0.4)

    Held back by

    • Practice-area relevance 13.3/20 (ranking avg 16.7)

    0.27 points behind #1 (Charles Hughes Sanford): Practice-area relevance −6.7.

  3. No change

    Lisa Thompson Barnes

    Independent practice · Vero Beach, FL

    Verified
    • 33 years experience
    • Guardianship · Probate Litigation
    • Bar status verified
    View profile
    Why #3?

    Ranks #3 with 75.00: strongest in Experience (30/30) and Data quality (10/10); held back by Reputation (0/20). 1.13 points behind #2, mostly reputation.

    Strongest

    • Experience 30/30 (ranking avg 22.6)
    • Data quality 10/10 (ranking avg 9.7)

    Held back by

    • Reputation 0/20 (ranking avg 0.4)

    1.13 points behind #2 (Carolyn Butler Norton): Reputation −4.

  4. No change

    Marie Sullivan Conforti

    Independent practice · Vero Beach, FL

    Verified
    • 20 years experience
    • Guardianship
    • Bar status verified
    View profile
    Why #4?

    Ranks #4 with 74.00: strongest in Practice-area relevance (20/20) and Experience (24/30); held back by Reputation (0/20). 1.00 points behind #3, mostly experience.

    Strongest

    • Practice-area relevance 20/20 (ranking avg 16.7)
    • Experience 24/30 (ranking avg 22.6)

    Held back by

    • Reputation 0/20 (ranking avg 0.4)

    1.00 points behind #3 (Lisa Thompson Barnes): Experience −6.

  5. No change

    Lisa Gaye dos Santos

    Independent practice · Vero Beach, FL

    Verified
    • 30 years experience
    • Guardianship · Probate Litigation
    • Bar status verified
    View profile
    Why #5?

    Ranks #5 with 73.60: strongest in Experience (30/30) and Professional credentials (15/15); held back by Reputation (0/20). 0.40 points behind #4, mostly practice-area relevance.

    Strongest

    • Experience 30/30 (ranking avg 22.6)
    • Professional credentials 15/15 (ranking avg 15)

    Held back by

    • Reputation 0/20 (ranking avg 0.4)

    0.40 points behind #4 (Marie Sullivan Conforti): Practice-area relevance −5, Data quality −1.4.

    Not on record (scores 0, never estimated): website.

  6. No change

    Timothy Nicholas Thomes

    Independent practice · Vero Beach, FL

    Verified
    • 41 years experience
    • Eminent Domain · Guardianship
    • Bar status verified
    View profile
    Why #6?

    Ranks #6 with 73.33: strongest in Experience (30/30) and Data quality (10/10); held back by Reputation (0/20) and Practice-area relevance (13.3/20). 0.27 points behind #5, mostly practice-area relevance.

    Strongest

    • Experience 30/30 (ranking avg 22.6)
    • Data quality 10/10 (ranking avg 9.7)

    Held back by

    • Reputation 0/20 (ranking avg 0.4)
    • Practice-area relevance 13.3/20 (ranking avg 16.7)

    0.27 points behind #5 (Lisa Gaye dos Santos): Practice-area relevance −1.7.

  7. No change

    Susan Marie Chesnutt

    Independent practice · Vero Beach, FL

    Verified
    • 16 years experience
    • Guardianship
    • Bar status verified
    View profile
    Why #7?

    Ranks #7 with 69.20: strongest in Practice-area relevance (20/20) and Data quality (10/10); held back by Reputation (0/20) and Experience (19.2/30). 4.13 points behind #6, mostly experience.

    Strongest

    • Practice-area relevance 20/20 (ranking avg 16.7)
    • Data quality 10/10 (ranking avg 9.7)

    Held back by

    • Reputation 0/20 (ranking avg 0.4)
    • Experience 19.2/30 (ranking avg 22.6)

    4.13 points behind #6 (Timothy Nicholas Thomes): Experience −10.8.

  8. No change

    Shannon Davis Norvig

    Independent practice · Vero Beach, FL

    Verified
    • 17 years experience
    • Guardianship · Probate Litigation
    • Bar status verified
    View profile
    Why #8?

    Ranks #8 with 65.40: strongest in Data quality (10/10) and Professional credentials (15/15); held back by Reputation (0/20) and Experience (20.4/30). 3.80 points behind #7, mostly practice-area relevance.

    Strongest

    • Data quality 10/10 (ranking avg 9.7)
    • Professional credentials 15/15 (ranking avg 15)

    Held back by

    • Reputation 0/20 (ranking avg 0.4)
    • Experience 20.4/30 (ranking avg 22.6)

    3.80 points behind #7 (Susan Marie Chesnutt): Practice-area relevance −5.

  9. No change

    Megan Naomi Root

    Independent practice · Vero Beach, FL

    Verified
    • 9 years experience
    • Guardianship · Probate Litigation
    • Bar status verified
    View profile
    Why #9?

    Ranks #9 with 55.80: strongest in Data quality (10/10) and Professional credentials (15/15); held back by Reputation (0/20) and Experience (10.8/30). 9.60 points behind #8, mostly experience.

    Strongest

    • Data quality 10/10 (ranking avg 9.7)
    • Professional credentials 15/15 (ranking avg 15)

    Held back by

    • Reputation 0/20 (ranking avg 0.4)
    • Experience 10.8/30 (ranking avg 22.6)

    9.60 points behind #8 (Shannon Davis Norvig): Experience −9.6.

  10. No change

    Eric Andrew Darpini

    Independent practice · Vero Beach, FL

    Verified
    • 5 years experience
    • Guardianship
    • Bar status verified
    View profile
    Why #10?

    Ranks #10 with 54.60: strongest in Practice-area relevance (20/20) and Professional credentials (15/15); held back by Reputation (0/20) and Experience (6/30). 1.20 points behind #9, mostly experience.

    Strongest

    • Practice-area relevance 20/20 (ranking avg 16.7)
    • Professional credentials 15/15 (ranking avg 15)

    Held back by

    • Reputation 0/20 (ranking avg 0.4)
    • Experience 6/30 (ranking avg 22.6)

    1.20 points behind #9 (Megan Naomi Root): Experience −4.8, Data quality −1.4.

    Not on record (scores 0, never estimated): website.

Data sources behind the scores

Every score on this page is calculated from facts backed by these sources. Each profile shows which source supports which fact and when it was last checked.

  • floridabar.org · Official / regulatory · 10 profile pages103 facts for 10 lawyers

Guardianship market in Vero Beach

LexRanked tracks 10 lawyers in guardianship law in Vero Beach, Florida. 10 of the lawyers have verified professional data. Data verified October 30, 2026.

Lawyers
10
Law firms
0
Verified professional data
10 of 10
Average rating
Withheldtoo few sourced ratings
Median review count
Withheldtoo few sourced counts
Median experience
21 years10 lawyers

Calculated by LexRanked from its own records on ; data verified . Ratings and review counts count only when backed by a source; figures from fewer than three profiles are withheld. All lawyers in Vero Beach

What sets these Vero Beach lawyers apart

Every lawyer in this ranking has a The Florida Bar license verified as eligible to practice, and every fact shown links to its source. The figures below come from each lawyer's Florida Bar profile.

Fact about the 10 ranked lawyers Figure
Years in practice 5 to 41 (median 21)
Languages besides English French (1), Spanish (1)
License status with The Florida Bar Eligible to practice, verified for every lawyer
Most common law school Florida Coastal School of Law (2 lawyers)

Who is included in this ranking?

Lawyers eligible to practice in Florida, with a Vero Beach office address and guardianship as a practice area on record. It compares 10 guardianship lawyers, using only facts with a cited source. The Florida Bar does not board-certify lawyers in guardianship, so the practice area is the one each lawyer lists on their Florida Bar profile, which The Florida Bar does not review. How we rank.

Florida rules to know

A Florida guardianship starts with a verified petition to determine incapacity, and the court-appointed guardian must report to the court within 60 days and file a plan every year; the ward keeps rights such as yearly review and restoration as soon as possible.

Rule What it means
Petition Any adult may file a verified petition to determine that a person is incapacitated (Fla. Stat. § 744.3201)
Who may serve A Florida resident 18 or older; a nonresident only if related to the ward as the statute lists (§ 744.309)
Disqualification A person convicted of a felony may not serve as guardian (§ 744.309(3))
Initial report The guardian files an inventory or initial plan within 60 days after letters of guardianship are signed (§ 744.362)
Annual plan A guardian of the person files an annual guardianship plan within 90 days after the anniversary month (§ 744.367)
Rights kept The ward keeps rights including an annual review, continuing review of restrictions and restoration to capacity at the earliest possible time (§ 744.3215)
Court Where cases are heard
State court circuit Indian River County is in Florida's Nineteenth Judicial Circuit

How to choose among these lawyers

Confirm the license, ask who will handle your matter, and get the fee terms in writing before you sign.

  1. Look up the lawyer in The Florida Bar's directory and check the bar number shown on their LexRanked profile.
  2. Ask whether the lawyer you meet will handle your matter personally, and how many matters like yours they have handled recently.
  3. Ask how they charge and what costs are extra, and get the agreement in writing.
  4. If you prefer to work in another language, check the languages listed on each profile.

Further reading

Sources for the rules above

Frequently asked questions

Who can file for guardianship in Florida?

Any adult may file a verified petition to determine that a person is incapacitated, under section 744.3201. The court then decides on capacity and on who should serve as guardian.

Can someone outside Florida be a guardian?

Only if related to the ward in a way section 744.309 lists, such as by blood or adoption, or the spouse of such a relative. Florida residents 18 or older may serve unless disqualified.

Who cannot be a guardian in Florida?

A person convicted of a felony, or one who cannot carry out the duties because of incapacity or illness or is otherwise unsuitable (section 744.309(3)).

What reports must a Florida guardian file?

An initial report within 60 days after letters are signed (section 744.362) and, for a guardian of the person, an annual guardianship plan within 90 days after the anniversary month (section 744.367).

What rights does a person under guardianship keep?

Among others, an annual review of the guardianship report and plan, continuing review of any restriction of rights and restoration to capacity at the earliest possible time (section 744.3215).

Which court handles cases in Vero Beach?

State court cases in Indian River County are heard in Florida's Nineteenth Judicial Circuit.

Are there Spanish-speaking guardianship lawyers in Vero Beach?

Yes. 1 of the 10 ranked lawyers lists Spanish on their Florida Bar profile. Each LexRanked profile shows the languages on record.

How is this ranking ordered?

By the LexRank score, calculated only from facts with a cited source: experience, practice-area relevance, awards on record such as board certification, professional credentials, data quality and location. Client reviews do not affect the LexRank score: neither star ratings nor the number of reviews is scored. Payment never changes a position.

Do client reviews affect the LexRank score?

Client reviews do not affect the LexRank score: neither star ratings nor the number of reviews is scored. Reviews are shown on profiles for information only, and Reputation counts only awards on record, such as board certification. How we rank

Which lawyers are verified?

10 of the 10 ranked lawyers have fully verified profiles: Charles Hughes Sanford, Carolyn Butler Norton, Lisa Thompson Barnes, Marie Sullivan Conforti and Lisa Gaye dos Santos and others.

What is the difference between the top two lawyers?

Charles Hughes Sanford scores 76.40 and Carolyn Butler Norton 76.13, a gap of 0.27 points, mostly in practice-area relevance. Compare them side by side

About this ranking

Last updated
Methodology
LexRank v1.2 - deterministic, reproducible scoring
Editorial review
LexRanked editorial team,
Independence
Positions are never sold. Paid placements, if any, are labelled and do not affect scores.

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