Hello,
I am new here and I appreciate any answers. I am doing research on behalf of my aging parents 82 and 77. My mom's estranged brother moved in 10 months ago and his dementia is getting worse and worse. We want to give him the proper care and put him into a home. We tried to get power of attorney over his finances and the bank did not approve it. A social worker came to investigate my parents. We think the bank froze my uncle's account. We are lost as family and do not know what our first steps should be. Thank you for any answers.
This person has posted twice since 1/4 and has not responded to either posts.
First order of business will be to get the necessary authorization to be his guardian/conservator. That will require going to court. This will be needed to gain access to his bank accounts and any assets he owns.
If his only income is SS, you need to apply to be Rep Payee. Since in office visits are probably not allowed right now, call the local SS office and request a phone appt to sign up. This IS the only LEGAL way to manage SS funds. Others have said go online to change his address, etc, but that isn't legal, for ANYONE, never mind someone with dementia (this applies to ANY online account, but SS is federal, which can bring more trouble to your door.)
The application isn't difficult, takes a little while to process, first payment comes as check to the Rep in name of person, then you can open a special Rep Payee account. Only the Rep can access it and funds must be used for the person. They do require yearly reports, so keep receipts/notes. THIS isn't difficult and can be done online through YOUR own SS account (they link the rep payee account to your SS.) This is also FREE.
I would get the rep payee application started, so that you have access asap to some funds for him. I would then contact EC attys to find out how you can get emergency guardian/conservatorship appointment and what it will cost. Until you have access to his funds/assets, you may have to pay up front for this, but should be able to reimburse yourself once the account(s) are accessible. The court system will also require accounting reports, and are likely more involved than SS.
Once the above is taken care of, then you can decide how to move forward. If he needs to be placed in MC, but can't afford it, Medicaid might be needed, but not all states will pay for MC. Medicaid does also have in-home options for care.
But, cross that bridge later - you need to get guardianship and financial access done first! You can always ask the EC atty or come back here for additional information/assistance. Many can advise, but legal advice is generally the best.
If for some reason, your uncle goes to the hospital and is hospitalized, please grab a social worker and explain that he cannot be discharged back to your parents home. If he is over 65, they will evaluate the need for long term care and can assist in placement but expect to still do a lot of leg work and paper gathering thru this whole process. At some point, particularly if he needs a Medicaid application, be prepared to gather at least 5 years worth of check statements, bills etc as well as birth and marriage certificates. If he has ever been in the Armed forces, he may be eligible for assistance from that sector.
Please keep us updated and good luck on this journey.
Without getting conservatorship at the least, they won't have access to any financial information to be able to complete an application for Medicaid, if that's needed.
It is critical to get the financial situation stabilized before worrying about anything else!
The best thing would have been to let him continue living with your parents and using his money to pay for Caregiving help.
If he has any mind left at all, your parents could have taken him to the Bank and add whoever is his brother or sister's name to his account.
My Dad has Dementia and he still has enough mind left to do that.
You should try taking him to the Bank to make thst request in person
If your uncle's condition makes it too difficult to manage his care at home, consider calling Adult Protective Services to help with his care. The lawyer and APS may advise you to take your uncle to a hospital for treatment and allow social work to then "place" him into an appropriate residential facility.
While you are doing research for your uncle, please consider if your parents need these kinds of help as well: powers of attorney and other legal documents drawn up by the lawyer, mental health evaluations by their primary care doctor, and investigating what help their health insurance covers for these types of situations.
You have to go to the probate court in the town/city your uncle lives in. They will give you the paperwork to fill out for POA and conservatorship over him. After that is filed there will have to be a lawyer retained to represent him (they really don't do anything) and that lawyer will be paid by your uncle's estate.
You will all go to a hearing before the judge at the probate court. Most of the time the judge will also have the person the conservatorship is being petitioned for (in this case your uncle) present as well if they are able to be there. If not then the lawyer appointed to them will go in their place. The petitioner (whose name is on the paperwork) must also be present. The judge will then decide if the petitioner is appointed conservator and POA. If it's family petitioning they almost always approve it right away.
Make sure you do all of this before you even look for a nursing home for your uncle. Under no circumstances should you EVER allow a nursing home, social worker, or lawyer to petition for POA and conservatorship over your uncle. They do try to work that hustle because we all know how the business end of nursing homes operate. Social workers and lawyers going after conservatorship, POA, or guardianship over a person don't do it out of the kindness of their hearts either. They get paid to. As a POA, conservator, or guardian you (or any petitioner appointed) will also be entitled to draw a salary from your uncle's funds for doing this duty. The probate court will explain to you what your responsibilities to the person and the court will be. You should have no problems getting POA and conservatorship appointed especially if your uncle is currently living with you. Also, you do not need to retain a lawyer to do this for you. It's pretty easy and the people at the probate court will help you with the paperwork.
Courts can approve guardianship and conservatorship, but not POAs. If you had POAs, you likely wouldn't need to go through the courts for anything.
If all he has for income is SS, THAT can be dealt with by signing up as Rep Payee with SS, the only LEGAL way to manage someone's SS funds. If he has other income and/or assets, then those must be dealt with by going to court to get conservatorship (might as well get the guardianship at the same time, if one needs to do this.)
Does your Uncle have any other family, a spouse, children, or any other siblings that could serve as Representative Payee for your Uncle with Social Security,
IF he receives Social Security?
What do you mean that you tried to get power of attorney over his finances and the bank did not 'approve it'. Did your Mom already have POA before your Uncle was diagnosed with dementia? One does not 'apply' for POA to any bank. But I am familiar with the bank blocking efforts of a POA for security and competency reasons.
Everyone is correct, one cannot obtain POA after a person has questions about competency with dementia.
Talk to his doctor.
If one is working with only Social Security income, you need a "Rep-Payee"
appointed to use those funds on Uncle's behalf.
If interviewed by the social worker separately, would your Uncle agree to let his estranged sister take over his finances, or would he instead mention that they are estranged?
This discovery of a family member's income and assets can take a very long time if there is more than a SS. income or other assets, as well as life insurance, etc. An attorney can assist with that.
Where did your Uncle live prior to moving into your parent's home? Was there a POA in place by anyone?
With a little more information, I might recommend that you contact Social Security online. Start with changing his address.
Don't waste your time and energy dealing with the BS of social workers. They will do absolutely nothing for you on this except cause trouble and make it more complicated then it is.
The uncle is already living with with the nephew. He has to go to the probate court and file for POA and conservatorship over his uncle.
It's not that hard to do and the probate court will help him with the paperwork. They will appoint a lawyer to represent the uncle which is totally unnecessary, but they always do that. The bill for it gets paid by the uncle's finances.
If it's a family member petitioning for the person and they are living with them, the court will approve that unless other family members show up at the probate court hearing to contest it. They have to show up at it or they default.
More later.
You can seek Guardianship.
See an Elder Care Attorney and the process can be started. It can be daunting, it can be expensive but most expenses should be paid by/with your uncles assets.
When the estranged bro moved in 10 months ago what was the agreement for rental, payments, and etc.?
I think that you are starting at the beginning here and that you, your Mom and Dad need to see an Elder Law Attorney. Expect to pay as much as 350.00 for an hour of time. Find out what you must do now to see your uncle safely placed.