I was POA and caregiver for both parents. Dad passed. Day of funeral the plan took place to have me removed by poisoning mother against me and had me leave. They changed all legal docs including will, after which they began removing the most valuable items which were to be divided equally in the will between the six children. Mother had documented dementia at the time of admittance to the nursing home. They say she is competent. They took away the car my parents gave me, they changed all legal documents except insurance on home owners and auto. They changed the will and then cleaned out the 1200sq. ft garage of vehicles, tools, garden tractor, freezer etc. When I found later that I was still liable on both polices I canceled them. These policies were then reinstated 5 times in 54 days in my name. Even the auto which had been impounded was picked up by non family member with insurance in my name which had been canceled twice in less than a month. My self and 2 sisters are blocked from contact or knowledge of our mother. She will soon be 90. She has been documented with dementia by 2 doctors. She will not speak to us after much emotional abuse and isolation. This is all about one family member wanting the property and house without having to pay market value.
Our mother has numerous physical problems which are not being fully addressed. I suspect some Identity theft is involved with her insurance through the nursing home. I have turned in complaints to the AL AG and the ALDOI for insurance fraud and identity theft. I have submitted grievances to Ombudsman in Mobile, AL for neglect. Their reaction is that this is a civil "domestic family issue". I get stonewalled everywhere I turn. No one responds. I have hard copy documentation for all of this.
Because of HIPPA we have no knowledge of our mother's health status as the medical POA has us blocked. She has serious medical conditions. A non family member substitutes as POA overseeing care and even attending care plan meetings but WE her daughters cannot see her. The NH was told of the medical and financial and ID theft and now doesn't return calls.
I live in TN and mother is in AL. I don't where else to turn to keep this situation from spiraling more out of control. I can't afford more legal. Sister and I did see an atty but all we got was a $550 consultation fee with no help at all.
Do we have any Social Services help available to get the gold diggers from destroying everything?
Jeannegibbs is right. Contact APS. They will investigate any reports of abuse, neglect, and exploitation on any older adult and will respond within about 10 days. I know this because my husband and I had to call a couple times for my husband's mentally ill cousin and Aunt. A caregiver committed fraud against his Aunt and was taking advantage of both.
As for the Fraud, contact the police department and try to make a report. Every county police department should have a fraud division. So even try to talk to a Fraud detective/investigator. If they are hard to get a hold of, they are probably pretty busy but just bug them until you get a response back.
As for the POA and other legal documents that seem to have been modified by your unkind siblings, I would also suggest trying to talk to another or several lawyers because these new documents could be questionable considering the fact that your mom has documented Alzheimers. I know that lawyers are expensive so try the Legal Aid Society or a Pro Bono Lawyer. For Pro Bono Lawyers, go to your local county clerk and they should have a list of Pro Bono Lawyers or even google them on the internet for Lawyers in your area.
Good Luck! And, remember GOOD ALWAYS PREVAILS IN THE END!! God Bless you and I will keep you in my prayers. ;-)
This is the crime of the century against old widows,
being taken advantage by the children they thought they could trust.
We are involved in the same thing except theirs escalated,
into the selling of her home where there were five sibs
she is Austrian and her children are what they call 1.5's
after the diagnosis, they acted like she has no feelings,
isn't smart enough to know her preferences, etc.
our 86 yr. old wanted to live in her house until she died
(her words, I want to be carried out like my husband).
and while the husbands grave was still warm,
they plotted.
I tried to get the district attorney involved,
but they said it was domestic,civil law not criminal law.
I thought it was trashing the person and going through their money, like stealing...
Now for 1 and 1/2 years later, I have her, but am not paid.
I have no words for this. Court is tomorrow!
what they have done in the "what comes around goes around"
is taught their children, how to treat them when they are in the same place.
They think their children will look at them differently, ah, no!
it is only a question of being around long enough to see it happen...
but then if I am not around, there won't be someone to stop them....
is that they charge 350.00 for a consultation, want 10,000.up front and cannot guarantee if they can win the case.
We are representing ourselves. If you look up the property at 4451 N. Maplewood Av.
Chicago, IL you will find her building in this turned down economy only sold for 425,000 in a neighborhood that has high property value should/could have received more money but they were in a hurry to sell, other dys.sibs, GAL, when they did this we were denied "cash and counseling" because she had liquid assets, of course the GAL and everybody involved can dip in whenever, but the caregiver...
Our 86 year old is an Austrian immigrant and arrived here
Halloween 1956 with her husband (now deceased for 11 yrs at the age of 92)
and her 5 children. Only the baby never married and stayed behind, now that he is 61,
and at a vulnerable time, they are acting like he was never their (father had severe RA and died /prostate cancer.
But getting back to the property it lists its selling features, new windows electric, ct bathrooms, kitchens, newly remodeled, etc, put in by (wrongfully accused) a deadbeat son..., who was to get paid- back when they sold the building, nodda,
taking care of 86 year old in her home for 5 years so she could stay in her home and when they sold the building, court ordered 18 months ago to caregive FOR FREE, never thinking they might mean forever...
Never heard of such but I am sure they(GAL , huardian lawayer, etc.) are charging her estate big bucks to keep us from getting paid.
These 4 sibs live less than 50 miles away, so their really was no excuse except their retaliation for us reporting them to senior services (otherwise known as the senior abuse hotline) when I kept (4 years) paying for her food and medicine because they refused to reimburse me when the circumvented her check to their home address, so we reported them for neglect and financial abuse of a senior May 2011.
Your father's estate will have to be probated first, assets are likely frozen until that happens. Bear in mind the NH may claim part of the estate. Be thankful you are not the executor, because sorting this out will take a judge.
APS - can only help by removing your mother from a harmful (physical, emotional, financial) situation. There are not there to assist you. I have been dealing with them for a year now. They have no authority or jurisdiction regarding other matters example POA. They can't even force issues to probate. On the up side, they have to investigate every single complaint or allegation.
Police: Will tell you it is a civil / probate issue. I ended up getting a criminal trespass warning against my sister and her husband to keep them away from me.
Here's where there is hope: Probate Court. Petition probate for guardianship and conservatorship (even if you are out of state, AL will probably appoint a state rep considering so much dissension is present.) THIS ONE IS IMPORTANT: GET PROBATE TO DECLARE HER INCOMPETENT ONCE YOU OR SOMEONE ELSE GETS CONTROL. I'm surprised the siblings haven't done it yet - it's really hard to reverse once a probate judge has ruled, having 2 independent doctors say she's incompetent in probate is all it takes here/GA. Make sure you know the legal definition and test for incompetency. My mother is in stage 6 dementia with zero short term memory and still does not meet the definition.
Medical/HIPPA - No way around it except: Most compassionate nursing home employees will provide scraps of information as long as they know they won't be caught. Better yet, find a relative of another patient who visits often... they can be your eyes and ears, worked great with my grandmother when I was out of state.
Best of luck - sorry you have to go through this - I never believed the stories about feuding families, until ours became one.
Prayers are with you -
JfromGa
You can petition probate court anytime you want, within statue of limitations, especially when there is a non resolvable issue within the court's jurisdiction like partitioning, guardianship, conservatorship, visitation etc...Whether it's your father's estate or your mother's situation.
If you can't afford a lawyer request pro bono help from legal aid. They don't take civil or probate cases, but may be a resource to guide you to a lawyer who will take your circumstances into account. You could also talk with the probate clerk who, like all of us can't give legal advice, but can guide you in the right direction. It doesn't matter if the estate is set up not to go to probate upon passing, but keep in mind, once a probate case is open it could turn into a can of worms.