Q: Uncle plays with 90yo grandfathers paranoia to turn him against the rest of his family & got him to change his will &POA
grandfather is in an assisted living facility in florida. He is 90 and has age related dementia, extremely paranoid. Uncle doesnt get along with the rest of the family, visits grandfather & plays with his paranoia. Makes up stories & fabricated letters that the family is conspiring to "come after him".Grandfather hires Lawyer that uncle picks out and makes lawyer trustee and POA, changes will to favor uncle, disinherits daughter. Seems that Uncle & lawyer have some type of financial agreement. just prior to signing papers uncle has grandfather seen by doctor & declared competent. As soon as uncle leaves GF calls me to ask me to change things back. I tell him he has to do this himself & he calls his old lawyer.Uncle & newlawyer somehow find out & call GF tell him oldlawyer is working with family members and not to be trusted. GF is really super stressed out.Doesnt believe his son but says he trusts him but also appears very anxious at the thought of Uncle returning. Anything I can do?
A:
A guardianship attorney can assist with this type of case. An action would be filed alleging that the grandfather did not have the capacity to sign that power of attorney and that the uncle is abusing his responsibilities as an agent by not meeting the grandfather's known wishes. This can get highly contentious so be prepared for a long stretch of litigation.
Also sounds like there is potential financial elder abuse going on here. More details on elder abuse can be found here:
https://www.elderneedslaw.com/elder-abuse
Be aware that you can face repercussions for falsely or frivolously accusing someone of elder abuse.
Good luck to you.
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