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Hello everyone, I am so glad to find this form. My dad was diagnosed with dementia wow in a 21 day rehab stay. He is very aggressive and hit exhibited some signs prior to admission. Loud angry outburstcome urinating in sinks, threatening to harm himself, sitting at home and not eating for a long periods of time he lost lots of weight. While not moving around and losing weight he developed a breakdown/bedsore while at home. While at the rehabilitation stay for a 21 day rehab his doctor noticed a cognition issue after reading what the therapy staff see it, he had lots of angry outburst memory issues and had become very belligerent with most of the state. The nursing home doctor gave an impression of vascular dementia and referred him to a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist has several contact with him and certainly call the nursing home saying that he could not have passes out of the facility. He said that he was incompetent and unable to handle his affairs and required a guardian. He asked the staff to contact me, his son, to come to his office the following Monday so he could write out a statement to take to probate court. The Friday before I was supposed to go see the psychiatrist he created such a scene in the admin area demanding to go home that they discharged him without notifying me. I am he’s responsible party and have a durable power of attorney. I don’t know what to do now because he discharged today. I did not think the nursing home with discharge him because I had told them that he would not be truthful about having proper care set up at home. I’m sure he will attempt to revoke my PO way as soon as possible because he is suspicious that idea all of this and he felt as if I was meddling in his affairs according to the doctors notes. I don’t know if I should take guardianship steps. I do have clinical note saying he has cognitive issues and cannot live alone because of his muscle weakness and cognition level and there are nursing notes and the doctor notes from the nursing home. On top of that I am receiving a psychiatrist recommendation for a guardianship. Does anybody know if I had to do the guardianship. I do have a durable power of attorney and he has already been diagnosed with dementia. He is going to raise hell and be very angry and he will be very aggressive. He has threatened to do harm to himself many times and he has threatened to put a bullet in his head if he ever has to go to a facility for long-term. Is anybody else here Going through a similar situation? How do I take control of this situation? It seems as though he will revoke my PO way and I know he will fight against the guardianship. I always look like the bad guy in this situation with you, always. I cannot believe that they discharged him without notifying me, I am the responsible party and I have a valid durable power of attorney on file with them isn’t that against the law?
I think you would need to be a health care surrogate so you can make health decisions for him, along with being his POA. I don't know anything about guardianship, sorry. I'm sorry your dad is so aggressive, it is the disease but it's still stressful. My dad would be aggressive too near the end and luckily we had him at home. He would have never lived very long in a facility.
Unless the principal (in this case, your father) to a power of attorney agreement has been declared incompetent, he still has the right to act for himself and make his own decisions. Power of attorney gives certain rights to you, the agent, but does not take away those same rights from your father, the principal. It just means that now both of you have the right to act for your father in certain respects. If the two of you disagree, say over your father wanting to buy an extravagant Christmas present for somebody, the wishes of the principal govern over your wishes. So even though you have power of attorney, if your father wants to leave, you can’t stop him because of having that power of attorney. You can make these decisions if he has been declared incompetent and you have guardianship. Better talk to an attorney or social worker to figure out the best way to proceed. It might even be illegal for the place where your father was staying to notify you, if your father asked them not to. Being old doesn’t take away his privacy rights. Being incompetent does, at least as far as his guardian is concerned.
Your dad needs to be declared mentally incapacitated by at least one doctor.
He has been diagnosed with dementia, right? If that's the case, look into memory care centers and meet with the administrator and give him/her all your legal documentation and take it from there.
You have a POA which is great, but that doesn't give you legal rights OVER him unless he is declared mentally incapacitated. You probably need to meet with an elder care attorney. Laws vary by state.
Your dad needs to be declared mentally incapacitated by at least one doctor.
He has been diagnosed with dementia, right? If that's the case, look into memory care centers and meet with the administrator and give him/her all your legal documentation and take it from there.
You have a POA which is great, but that doesn't give you legal rights OVER him unless he is declared mentally incapacitated. You probably need to meet with an elder care attorney. Laws vary by state.
Keep us posted, please.
I’m sorry I did not make this clear, but a psychiatrist has deemed him as mentally incapable of handling his own affairs. He asked me to come to his office this Monday and he will write out a referral for me to take to probate court.
Unless the principal (in this case, your father) to a power of attorney agreement has been declared incompetent, he still has the right to act for himself and make his own decisions. Power of attorney gives certain rights to you, the agent, but does not take away those same rights from your father, the principal. It just means that now both of you have the right to act for your father in certain respects. If the two of you disagree, say over your father wanting to buy an extravagant Christmas present for somebody, the wishes of the principal govern over your wishes. So even though you have power of attorney, if your father wants to leave, you can’t stop him because of having that power of attorney. You can make these decisions if he has been declared incompetent and you have guardianship. Better talk to an attorney or social worker to figure out the best way to proceed. It might even be illegal for the place where your father was staying to notify you, if your father asked them not to. Being old doesn’t take away his privacy rights. Being incompetent does, at least as far as his guardian is concerned.
I apologize for not making this known, but a psychiatrist saw my dad after A referral from his nursing home doctor. I was told this past Thursday that the psychiatrist declared him mentally incapable of handling his own affairs and wants to meet with me this mon to hand me a referral for probate court
Your dad needs to be declared mentally incapacitated by at least one doctor.
He has been diagnosed with dementia, right? If that's the case, look into memory care centers and meet with the administrator and give him/her all your legal documentation and take it from there.
You have a POA which is great, but that doesn't give you legal rights OVER him unless he is declared mentally incapacitated. You probably need to meet with an elder care attorney. Laws vary by state.
Keep us posted, please.
Yes a psychiatrist has declared him mentally incapable of handling his own affairs as of last week. And an attorney reviewed my POA way and said that it is so descriptive and in depth that it actually will serve in place of guardianship. However, I just need guidance as to how to get this thing started. I will seek the advice of the psychiatrist Monday when I go back to get the probate Paperwork
Unless the principal (in this case, your father) to a power of attorney agreement has been declared incompetent, he still has the right to act for himself and make his own decisions. Power of attorney gives certain rights to you, the agent, but does not take away those same rights from your father, the principal. It just means that now both of you have the right to act for your father in certain respects. If the two of you disagree, say over your father wanting to buy an extravagant Christmas present for somebody, the wishes of the principal govern over your wishes. So even though you have power of attorney, if your father wants to leave, you can’t stop him because of having that power of attorney. You can make these decisions if he has been declared incompetent and you have guardianship. Better talk to an attorney or social worker to figure out the best way to proceed. It might even be illegal for the place where your father was staying to notify you, if your father asked them not to. Being old doesn’t take away his privacy rights. Being incompetent does, at least as far as his guardian is concerned.
Last week a psy doc. Declared him incapable of handling his affairs and wants me to come to his office mon to pick up the paperwork for probate court!
Yes a psychiatrist has declared him mentally incapable of handling his own affairs as of last week. And an attorney reviewed my POA way and said that it is so descriptive and in depth that it actually will serve in place of guardianship. However, I just need guidance as to how to get this thing started. I will seek the advice of the psychiatrist Monday when I go back to get the probate Paperwork
Do NOT file for guardianship if the POA will work instead - it's a pain in the arse and costs money you probably don't need to spend.
You should be able to authorize ANY treatment plan for him at any facility with the POA and the letter of mental incapacity. Sounds like he needs to be in a memory care center and on some medications to tone down that aggression/anxiety.
Do NOT file for guardianship if the POA will work instead - it's a pain in the arse and costs money you probably don't need to spend.
You should be able to authorize ANY treatment plan for him at any facility with the POA and the letter of mental incapacity. Sounds like he needs to be in a memory care center and on some medications to tone down that aggression/anxiety.
Yep. Guardianship is big legal fees and you can assume a lot of legal liability. It’s also a paperwork nightmare. You want to avoid that. Imagine a belligerent person with dementia grabbing your car keys. I wouldn’t want to be guardian.
At least in Massachusetts, you can’t authorize any treatment plan. There is a state law about Rx for the elderly. Too many nursing homes were fogging patients. My mother is in Memory Care. An Ativan anti-anxiety Rx is challenging. I had to stick with RI and CT where my POA and health care POA are adequate. I’m not sure any other states have law like that.
Last edited by GeoffD; 12-09-2018 at 07:18 AM..
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