Q: What to do when an elderly parent is no longer competent.
My 2 young children, my wife and I have lived with my elderly mother in her house (that she owns) for the past 5 years to help care for her, as well as the home. She has recently stopped taking her medications and seeing her doctor. She drives her car recklessly. (Has new, lrg damage to drivers side tail light+surrounding area. (Claims to not know how it got there. )She has been being "romance" scammed and I believe conned into help launder money for these scammers. Her memory for a lot of things isn't just gone, but been replaced by things that did not happen. She has become very paranoid and hateful toward almost everyone. Last night she walked past my wife and said are you done stealing my mail? My wife asked her what she was talking about. My mom thinks my wife has somehow stolen all of her bank cards, credit cards, her driver's license (which she already found a week ago). She messaged me today and said get out of my house. I asked her to come talk to me about why she so angry and
A:
Unfortunately this is likely a time to seek guardianship over your mother. If she is declining and isn't able to take care of herself, you will need to petition the probate court to obtain guardianship over her. If she refuses to see a doctor who can perform a competency exam, you will also have to ask the court to assign a medical professional to conduct the examination.
These can be extremely emotionally taxing cases, especially when the person over whom you are seeking guardianship does not believe that they need it.
A: Check your local court web site for the information required for guardianships. Many courts post that on-line. Use the Find a Lawyer tab to retain a local attorney who handles guardianship cases and discuss the situation and what will be required, which might be complicated a bit because you personally benefit from living in her home. Also call your local senior services or local area agency on aging. They can provide direction and support in cases of onset of dementia and mental decline. Best wishes in difficult circumstances.
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