Winter Garden resident fights for guardianship reforms

It should be simple. 

But the red tape is both thick and unrelenting. And the result is heartbreaking.

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’s disease.  

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.

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.

Later in court, a judge deemed the family as dysfunctional and appointed a guardian to David Pherai.

Suddenly, Alvarez’s access to her father was gone.

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’s 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. 

“Our peers would hear the dispute, and they would decide whether that person should be in a guardianship, and if that’s the case, whom they should go to,” Hogue said.

THE ISSUE

In 2017, Raymond Pherai filed for guardianship of their father, but after David Pherai was deemed competent, the courts dismissed the case.

After Raymond Pherai’s 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. 

From then until 2021, Alvarez claims neither she nor her father heard from him. 

That’s when Raymond Pherai visited his father and never brought him home, once again filing for guardianship. 

In court, the family was ruled dysfunctional. The judge appointed a professional guardian to him. 

“Everything after that went downhill,” Alvarez said. “She removed him from his home.” 

Furthermore, the appointed guardian took Alvarez to court to remove her name from the house’s deed, claiming Alvarez shouldn’t be the one overseeing the estate. 

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. 

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. 

But she bought the house so her father didn’t have it stripped away from him. It’s the place that brought him joy and still brings him comfort. 

During that time, Alvarez’s brother also decided to take her to court and remove her as the trustee over their father’s trust and as manager of his company. 

“The trust and the LLC and every bank account that my dad owned was in my name,” she said. “My dad thought that would protect him.” 

But the court removed her rights to the trust, the LLC and did not name her guardian. 

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. 

Alvarez said a renowned Alzheimer’s doctor interviewed her father and testified in court that he should have some of his rights restored. 

His guardian fought that and said he should not have his rights restored. 

“(The court) took the word of a guardian and did not restore my dad’s rights,” Alvarez said. 

Five years later, Alvarez still is trying to gain guardianship of her father, like he intended it to be. 

THE CHANGE

Alvarez now is seeking reform with the help of her husband and Hogue, a guardianship advocate. 

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. 

“He basically hit the lottery getting out of the guardianship in Florida,” she said. “Most people die in them. Instead of going back to a normal sense of life. … 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.” 

In probate courts, a judge makes the decisions. There is no jury.

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’s best interest, without monetary compensation being the leading factor. 

“In today’s guardianship courts, unless your client is found to be incapacitated, you do not get paid,” Hogue said. “The only way you get paid is if that person goes into guardianship.” 

She said that’s why most elders end up in a guardianship in the first place. 

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. 

“Advanced directives are a waste of money right now,” Hogue said. “Everyone is wasting their money because the judges never respect these documents.” 

While legal binding paperwork is supposed to protect seniors when they are deemed incapacitated, it is overlooked in many guardianship cases, favoring the petitioner. 

“We wanted to do a billboard when you drive into Florida, ‘Beware of guardianship abuse,’”she said. “Everyone thinks ‘That could never happen to me,’ and when it does, it’s too late because once that petition is filed, usually the only way out is through death.” 

While the situation is complex, the reason for it is simple, Sonya Alvarez and Hogue said. 

The system simply is flawed. 

“To get a bill passed is like having the Pope convert to Judaism, it’s just not happening,” Hogue said. “Nothing is happening.” 

She said that is due to faulty mechanics in the system, including the lack of transparency in cases, lack of reachability and monetary incentives.

“It’s been going on for decade after decade after decade,” Hogue said. “This could be stopped, but because they know no one is looking at it, they’re getting away with it.” 

If the bill is passed, it would protect the seniors from being exploited, she said. 

If the bill is passed, they hope more families will have the courage to speak up, with no ramifications. 

THE FUTURE

Today, Sonya Alvarez’s father is under new guardianship after the Alvarezes and Hogue filed complaints about David Pherai’s guardian, leading her to resign.  

However, he now is under Sonya Alvarez’s cousin’s care after Raymond Pherai allegedly failed to pass his background check and asked their cousin to become his father’s legal guardian, Sonya Alvarez said. 

Sonya Alvarez was deemed a non-interest party in her father’s care. 

“They won’t let me see my dad and they won’t let him spend the night with me,” Sonya Alvarez said. “We’re talking about a person who has lived with me since 2013. I’ve taken care of him every single day of my life. I did everything with him and now I don’t see him.”

Sonya Alvarez said her father visits his home and reminisces about his life there. 

“I just want to hold his hand,” she said crying. “He’ll be 90 years old this June, and I can’t even spend the night with him.” 

While a solution has yet to be found, the Alvarezes and Hogue are optimistic of what the future holds. 

“I gave up for a minute because I felt defeated,” Sonya Alvarez said. “But I’m not defeated anymore. I’m going to try again. I’m going to keep fighting for these seniors. I’m not fighting just for my dad, I’m fighting for everyone, including myself.” 

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.