Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Be aware that nursing homes themselves can claim legal guardianship over a patient, and get access to the elder's funds. This is just now coming to light in the news.
I don't think my aunt was trying to hide it because she was open with her siblings about it. She would have assumed at any time they might have discussed it with Grandma. And Grandma wasn't so far gone she wouldn't have known why she was at the doctor. As it turned out, the POAs were irrelevant. Grandma died about a year later in her favorite chair with the day's mail in her lap. My uncle found her when he came home from work and he thought she was sleeping. She had a long-standing will, so there was no funny business in terms of her modest estate. Obviously she was luckier than some.
I am so glad that my question didn't offend you and that your grandmother was able to live out her life in a loving family.
My question is, if you are found incompetent, do you still have to give permission for someone to take over your affairs. I don't think so.
A few years ago my father was in the hospital for some heart issues. At that time I had POA and medical POA and my father had been living with us for 3 years as he had a major stroke and was going blind and couldn't take care of himself.
After a few days I couldn't get in contact with the "hospitalist" to get an update on my father's health. I had left messages with the nurses but the "hospitalist" refused to reply. Finally a couple days layer (total stay 5 days) I heard the doctor introduce himself to a patient in another room down the hall. I waited outside the room and cornered him in the hallway. I introduced myself and asked for an update on my father. He said that he was fine but they were just waiting for an evaluation. I asked what kind of evaluation and he said they were trying to determine whether he could take care of himself. At that time I exploded and told him that if he had taken the time to call me as requested multiple times I would have told him that he can't and doesn't live by himself. He was released two hours later.
The point of this post is that I don't really know where this situation would have gone if there was an evaluation, or if I hadn't cornered the "hospitalist" in the hallway.
By the way, although probably not appropriate for the retirement forum, a thread on the role of the "hospitalist" and how it is degrading our health system would be enlightening for many!
During the ten years my sister has been in the nursing home I have made plenty of "noise." I have threatened law suit, which pretty much gets their attention. I've interrupted meetings, etc. because my questions were going unanswered, etc. I went to town on them over getting her the new, fit-for-her wheelchair.
I have seen some remarkable changes.... from changing the entire staff on her floor. But I have to keep at it..... if I slack off, so do they.
We can't be passive about our loved ones whether in nursing home or hospital. "They" will avoid us as long as they can. That's why as rude as it may sound, we have to get into their face whenever something is going on that is not good for our loved ones.
During the ten years my sister has been in the nursing home I have made plenty of "noise."
Yes - everyone needs a "battle-axe"!
To those who want me to 'dig down to the bottom of this' - It probably isn't possible now. These events took place 5 to 10 years ago, when laws may have been different. The people involved have either died or moved on in life. Apparently, their stories touched a nerve somewhere, as I never expected so much response. If it gets people thinking about this, so much the better.
Whoever mentioned "corruption" in the state is right on.
I do volunteer caregiver work sometimes. It is a service for people who are living independently and want to keep doing so even though they can't do everything anymore. They may need transportation, help shopping, cleaning house or in other non medical facets of living. There are a number of care receivers that probably shouldn't be living independently. I haven't had to face that quandary yet, but sometimes volunteers who are trying to help people stay out of care facilities report situations where it isn't safe for the person to continue living alone.
No one is lying. These two instances really happened. I'll admit that there may have been more going on than what I or they were aware of, but those 'goings on' were unknown to the parents. They had no reason to lie to me, or me to you. I was not close to the children, only the parents, whom I had known as neighbors for many years. I know for certain there was NO signing over of rights, at least not before the move.
What was most distressing to these people was that they claim they were not consulted in advance, that they had no say in where they went, and no knowledge of it before they were just moved. In the first case of the 73-year-old man, why would he not accept a ride 'home' from his daughter? At the time, the hospital would not release you unless you had someone to pick you up, and he trusted his daughter.
Do not be so quick to jump onto the "hogwash" bandwagon, just because you see some posts that this is not possible. Many things are possible, and don't make much sense.
The doctor probably ordered some type of rehab after his hospital stay. Lots of times it is done at a nursing home environment.
This. Even if the man was dropped off without his consent, why would he have to remain there? If he is not deemed incompetent, why would they be able to do this?
yes, my 91 year old mom is in a home and if she decided to one day leave, no one could legally stop her.
There's something missing here. My father had Alzheimer's and we had to do this. We had to go to a court hearing and talk to a judge to get it done. My father had to appear in court. It was all out in the open. No way you could ever just do this to someone without their knowledge. Making poor choices/decisions or just being old does not give your children or anyone else the right to just take over your affairs or decide where you live. It doesn't work that way.
And it's easy to prove you are competent. You pretty much just need to know who you are, where you are, the date, and who is President. And be able to string together a couple of coherent sentences. And your lawyer will coach you before the hearing if you are trying to avoid the declaration. There are no essay questions either. As long as you meet the minimum requirements to be judged competent you can leave all your assets to the TV reverend or walk around with tin foil on your head.
It's not easy to do this at all! And it shouldn't be easy.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
