Before You Retain Anyone, Check One Date: 1 July 2026
A statutory deadline six weeks ago changed who can take a court-appointed forensic evaluation in Florida. Evaluators who missed it came off the state list.
House Bill 1901 amended Chapter 916 effective 1 July 2025, carried into law as chapter 2025-143. Section 11 rewrote Fla. Stat. 916.115, and the rewritten section contains this:
“Existing evaluators as of July 1, 2024, shall complete department-provided annual forensic evaluator training by July 1, 2026, to remain active on the list.”
The Department of Children and Families republished its forensic evaluator list on 29 June 2026, two days before the cutoff.
Three practical consequences.
Training is annual now, not one-time. The old model treated forensic examiner certification as something you earned once and kept. The amended statute requires initial and annual training, and juvenile competency work requires its own separate training track. DCF delivers the adult requirement through its Alternative Placements presentation, which the department states “also serves as annual training for court-appointed evaluators conducting adult forensic evaluations pursuant to Ch. 916.” An expert who says they “completed the state training” without saying when is answering a question you did not ask.
For court appointments, the list is the check. The resume is not. Under Fla. Stat. 916.115 the court appoints no more than three experts, and each must be a psychiatrist, licensed psychologist or physician who has completed that training. A distinguished CV does not substitute for current list status.
The report standard tightened at the same time. The amended section requires that the expert’s report and testimony “explicitly address each of the factors and follow the procedures set out in this chapter and in the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure.” Those factors sit in Rule 3.211(a)(2)(A): whether the defendant can appreciate the charges, appreciate the range of penalties, understand the adversarial nature of the process, disclose relevant facts to counsel, manifest appropriate courtroom behavior, and testify relevantly. A report that offers a diagnosis and skips the six factors is now non-compliant on its face.
Ask us for our current status. Ask the same of anyone else you are considering, and ask for the date.
Court-appointed Or Privately Retained: Two Doors, And Most Pages Only Show You One
Palm Beach County runs a public forensic psychology office. Commercial pages skip it, because pointing readers toward a service the court pays for is bad for business. If your case qualifies, start there.
| Forensic Psychology Services Office (county) | Privately retained (us) | |
|---|---|---|
| Who refers | Court only. Every referral needs a signed court order | Attorney, party, agency, or court |
| Criminal | Competency, intellectual disability, mental status at time of offense, risk assessment | Same, plus criminal responsibility, Miranda waiver capacity, and mitigation |
| Juvenile | Threat assessment, delinquency, competency, dependency | Same |
| Family | Domestic violence risk assessment | Custody, parental capacity, attachment and bonding |
| Civil and probate | Not offered | Capacity and guardianship, testamentary capacity, undue influence susceptibility, personal injury and emotional damages |
| Immigration | Not offered | Hardship, asylum, VAWA, competency in immigration proceedings |
| Who pays | “All costs associated with the court’s ordered assessment/evaluation are determined by the presiding judge and taxed accordingly” | The retaining party, in advance |
| How the fee is set | By published administrative order of the 15th Judicial Circuit, not by negotiation | By written engagement letter before work begins |
| Choice of evaluator | No. The court assigns | Yes |
| Where | Main Judicial Complex, North County, South County and West County facilities, the jails, and local hospitals | Our Jupiter office, the courthouse, a facility, or the residence |
| Contact | (561) 355-2108, Room 5.1130, Main Judicial Complex, 205 N Dixie Highway, West Palm Beach | (561) 870-0411, drcolet@fcpsychexperts.com |
Under Fla. Stat. 916.115 the court pays the experts it appoints and those fees are taxed as costs in the case. Depending on representation, payment routes through the Public Defender under s. 29.006, the State Attorney under s. 29.005, or the Justice Administrative Commission.
So the honest first question is not what does this cost. It is has a judge signed an order? If yes, call (561) 355-2108 before you call us.
Look at the civil and probate row again, because that is where the two doors separate for an Ocean Ridge reader. Capacity, testamentary capacity and undue influence are not on the county’s list. If your matter is a guardianship petition or a will contest, the public door was never open, and the next section explains why that describes most of this town.
Ocean Ridge Is 1,537 People With A Median Age Of 64.8. That Changes Which Evaluation You Need.
Ocean Ridge generates capacity and civil cases, not criminal competency volume. The demographics decide it, and they are not close.
The 2024 American Community Survey puts the town at 1,537 residents with a median age of 64.8. More than half, 52.4%, are 65 or older. Ocean Ridge is a barrier-island community of roughly a square mile between the Atlantic and the Intracoastal, bordered by Briny Breezes to the south and Boynton Beach across the water. Affluent, low density, and older than almost anywhere else in the county.
Run that against the forensic caseload:
| Evaluation type | Expected Ocean Ridge volume | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Guardianship and incapacity, Ch. 744 | High | Age structure. Petitions climb steeply after 75 |
| Testamentary capacity, retrospective | High | Contested estates in an affluent, aging population |
| Undue influence and susceptibility | High | Older residents living alone are the target profile |
| Neuropsychological evaluation for civil capacity | High | Dementia questions decide most contested capacity findings |
| Personal injury and emotional damages | Moderate | Falls, motor vehicle, medical negligence |
| Family and custody | Low | Few households with minor children |
| Competency to proceed, criminal | Low | Minimal volume from this population |
| Juvenile delinquency and threat assessment | Very low | Almost no minors |
Which is why the evaluator-list check above matters less to an Ocean Ridge reader than it first appears, and the two-door table matters more. The DCF list governs court-appointed adult competency work. Most Ocean Ridge matters are civil probate questions that never touch that system at all, and for those the county office is not an option and the choice of expert is entirely yours.
Most pages targeting small Florida towns publish one service menu everywhere and let the reader sort it out. If your case is a guardianship petition or a will contest, the capacity sections are the ones written for you.
Meet the Team
Dr. Cathy Colet
Forensic PsychologistDr. Cathy Colet is a Licensed Clinical and Forensic Psychologist and founder of Forensic and Clinical PsychExperts, LLC.
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Dr. Lauren Miller
Clinical and Forensic NeuropsychologistDr. Miller has nearly 20 years of experience as a clinician, consultant, lecturer, and writer.
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Dr. Matthew J. Jalazo
Forensic PsychologistDr. Matthew J. Jalazo is a licensed psychologist who has practiced forensic psychology on a full-time basis for the last fifteen years.
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Dr. Christopher J. Beltran
Forensic PsychologistDr. Beltran is a Licensed Forensic Psychologist with over twenty-five years of experience in criminal and family law
Read MoreHow To Verify Any Florida Forensic Psychologist In Four Minutes
There is no separate forensic psychology license in Florida. Anyone doing this work holds the standard psychologist license, prefix PY, issued under Chapter 490 by the Florida Board of Psychology. The requirements are a doctorate from an APA-accredited program, 4,000 supervised hours split between a doctoral internship and a postdoctoral year, a passing EPPP score, and the Florida laws-and-rules examination.
None of that is specific to court work. Which means “forensic” on a website is a marketing claim, not a credential. Four checks, four minutes.
One. The license is active. Search the Florida Department of Health licensee portal by name. Confirm the PY number, the status, and any discipline history.
Two. For court-appointed adult competency work, they are current on the DCF list. After 1 July 2026 this is the check that matters most, for the reasons set out at the top of this page. Ask when they last completed the annual training. A vague answer is an answer.
Three. The testimony record exists in your circuit. Ask how many times they have been qualified as an expert in the 15th Judicial Circuit specifically, and whether they have ever been excluded on a Daubert challenge. An expert who has never been challenged has usually never been tested.
Four. Board certification, if present, is a strong signal. The American Board of Forensic Psychology under ABPP is one of only two forensic specialty certifications recognized in the APA Directory, and it ends in a three-hour oral examination before three board-certified forensic psychologists. It is also rare. ABPP puts board certification at roughly four percent of qualified psychologists, so its absence is normal and not a disqualifier. Its presence is meaningful.
Florida has applied the Daubert standard since 23 May 2019 under Fla. Stat. 90.702. Reports written to older Frye habits get excluded. Ask when the expert last revised their methodology section.
When We Turn A Case Down
We decline cases, and we say so on the first call rather than after the retainer clears.
We say no when the referral question asks for a predetermined answer. Attorneys occasionally describe the conclusion they need before describing the facts. No competent psychologist writes that report, and it would not survive cross-examination if one did.
We say no when the records cannot support a defensible retrospective opinion. If a testator died four years ago and the file holds one physician note, nobody can reconstruct capacity at execution. Somebody will take that case. It should not be us.
We say no when the case needs a psychiatrist. Medication effects on capacity, or differential diagnosis requiring prescribing expertise. We point you to the right discipline.
We say no on conflicts. Prior evaluation of a party or a family member gets disclosed and we step aside.
We also say no when the county office is the better door. If you hold a court order for adult competency and the case qualifies, (561) 355-2108 is the call to make first.
Criminal, Family, Immigration And Injury Cases From Ocean Ridge
Criminal. Competency to proceed for adults and juveniles, competency to waive Miranda rights, criminal responsibility and the insanity defense, violence risk assessment, sexual behavior risk assessment, and mitigation including downward departure and diminished capacity. Court-appointed and privately retained.
Family. Custody and parental capacity evaluations, child custody evaluations, attachment and bonding assessments. In family work the psychologist’s duty runs to the best interests of the children, whichever party pays.
Personal injury. Emotional damages and psychological injury evaluations for plaintiff and defense. Dr. Colet’s background includes Level 1 Trauma Center work with traumatic brain injury, motor vehicle accidents, medical negligence and catastrophic injury, including assessment of malingering and symptom exaggeration. For an Ocean Ridge population, falls and motor vehicle claims are the common presentation.
Immigration. Extreme and exceptional hardship, political asylum, spousal abuse and VAWA petitions, competency to participate in immigration proceedings, and hardship waivers for same-sex couples. Evaluations available at ICE detention centers and correctional facilities.
Also available. Neuropsychological evaluations, psychoeducational testing for children and teens, clinical psychological evaluations, involuntary commitment evaluations, and pre-employment screening for police, fire, corrections and probation.
Getting To Us From Ocean Ridge
Our Jupiter office is at 210 Jupiter Lakes Blvd, Unit 4-201, Jupiter, FL 33458, in the medical complex across from Jupiter Medical Center off Indiantown Road. Roughly 27 miles north of Ocean Ridge. Reach us at (561) 870-0411 or drcolet@fcpsychexperts.com, Monday to Friday, 7:30am to 4:30pm.
Ocean Ridge sits in Palm Beach County, inside Florida’s 15th Judicial Circuit. Two courthouses matter for most Ocean Ridge matters. The South County Courthouse in Delray Beach is about 6 miles south. The Main Judicial Complex at 205 N Dixie Highway, West Palm Beach is about 12 miles north, and the circuit’s Forensic Psychology Services Office operates from Room 5.1130 there.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a forensic psychologist located in Ocean Ridge, FL?
No. No forensic psychology practice maintains an office inside Ocean Ridge. It is a barrier-island town of about a square mile with 1,537 residents. Psychologists serving Ocean Ridge cases work from Jupiter, West Palm Beach, Delray Beach or Fort Lauderdale, and most evaluations happen at a courthouse, a facility, or the examinee’s residence rather than at an office. The FC PsychExperts Jupiter office is roughly 27 miles north.
What changed for Florida forensic evaluators on 1 July 2026?
Fla. Stat. 916.115, as amended by HB 1901 effective 1 July 2025, required evaluators active as of 1 July 2024 to complete Department of Children and Families annual forensic evaluator training by 1 July 2026 to remain active on the state forensic evaluator list. Evaluators who did not complete it are no longer active. DCF republished the list on 29 June 2026. For court-appointed adult competency work, current list status is the first qualification to verify.
How is a forensic evaluation paid for?
It depends which door the case comes through. When a court appoints the expert, Fla. Stat. 916.115 provides that the court pays and the fees are taxed as costs in the case, at rates the 15th Judicial Circuit publishes by administrative order. Palm Beach County’s Forensic Psychology Services Office states that all costs of a court-ordered assessment are determined by the presiding judge and taxed accordingly. When a party retains privately, the evaluation is quoted as a flat fee in a written engagement letter and paid before work begins, with testimony billed separately.
Does health insurance cover a forensic evaluation?
No. A forensic evaluation is a legal service rather than medical treatment, and no health plan reimburses it. Court-appointed work under Fla. Stat. 916.115 is the exception, and there the court pays rather than an insurer.
How many experts will a Florida court appoint for a competency evaluation?
No more than three, under Fla. Stat. 916.115. Each must be a psychiatrist, licensed psychologist, or physician who has completed initial and annual forensic evaluator training provided by the Department of Children and Families. Juvenile competency evaluations require separate juvenile forensic competency training.
Can I retain my own expert if the judge has already ordered an evaluation?
Often, yes. In adversarial matters parties frequently retain an expert alongside or instead of relying only on a court-appointed evaluator, and the court weighs the competing findings. Whether it is available in your case depends on the matter and the judge, so your attorney is the right person to advise.
My mother has a dementia diagnosis. Does that invalidate her will?
No, and it is the most common misunderstanding in Florida will contests. Testamentary capacity is measured at the moment of execution, and the threshold asks whether the testator understood the nature and extent of their property, the natural objects of their bounty, and the practical effect of the will. A person with a dementia diagnosis can execute a valid will during a lucid interval. A retrospective evaluation reconstructs functioning at that specific moment from records, medication histories, contemporaneous accounts, and the drafting attorney’s file.
How long does an evaluation take?
Standard turnaround is 30 days from the completed evaluation session, and we are currently booked about three weeks out, so a report requested today would arrive in roughly seven weeks. Court timelines and case complexity move that window. (Mock figures. Confirm before publish.)
Will the report hold up under Florida’s admissibility standard?
Florida has applied Daubert since 23 May 2019 under Fla. Stat. 90.702. A defensible report names each instrument administered, states the normative basis for interpretation, documents every collateral source, and traces each conclusion to its factual basis. For competency matters, Rule 3.211(a)(2)(A) sets six factors the report must address, and the amended Fla. Stat. 916.115 requires the expert’s report and testimony to explicitly address each of them. Admissibility remains the court’s decision.
Which courthouse handles Ocean Ridge matters?
Ocean Ridge sits in the 15th Judicial Circuit, serving all of Palm Beach County. South county civil and family matters are heard at the South County Courthouse in Delray Beach, about six miles away. Circuit criminal, probate and guardianship matters are heard at the Main Judicial Complex, 205 N Dixie Highway, West Palm Beach, where the county’s Forensic Psychology Services Office operates from Room 5.1130.