I'm in the initial stages of filing a petition to have my 85yo dad declared incompetent and have a conservator and a guardian appointed. (loooong story... he's attempted to give away a house to a home health aide (HHA) that is already registered with Adult Protective Services as having exploited a prior victim, can't manage his meds, multiple falls, SS scams, etc.)
The initial plan was to name by brother and I as conservator and guardian.
However, we're learning that while it looks like a slam dunk court case, there is absolutely nothing we can do about Dad's living conditions once we are guardians if Dad doesn't want to play along (and he most definitely is going to fight. Hard.).
* We can not get a restraining order to forbid the exploiting HHA from contacting Dad (no physical violence, "its not harassment if Dad WANTS contact with her").
* The state Adult Protective Services is stepping out saying their job is done because Dad's assets will be protected once we get a conservator named.
* We can not get a court order to have him placed in assisted living.
The highly recommended elder law atty's less than helpful suggestion is "pick dad up to go shopping for groceries and then drop him off at the assisted living facility instead". Per the lawyer, "a court order is just a piece of paper and there is no one that will enforce it" (The police will not get involved).
* There is no other family willing to engage. In the last month Dad has fired his CPA, his rental property manager, PCP Dr. etc, so there is no one else to bring into the picture that Dad might listen to.
So. We're sitting here trying to figure out if we should even petition for guardianship. Once made guardian, we're responsible to the court and liable for Dad's care, but we would have absolutely no control of providing that care. Short of 24 hour a day home health aides (unaffordable @ $18K PER MONTH), there is no way to stop dad from doing things like repainting his house (climbing ladders, going into the crawl space under his ground set trailer, etc) and walking 6 miles (one way) to some place that he "has to go to NOW" rather than wait for some one to give him a ride.
Questions:
What options are there to get somebody into assisted living/memory care against their will?
How can a guardian ensure health and safety without any control of the living environment?
Any ideas here?
The initial plan was to name by brother and I as conservator and guardian.
However, we're learning that while it looks like a slam dunk court case, there is absolutely nothing we can do about Dad's living conditions once we are guardians if Dad doesn't want to play along (and he most definitely is going to fight. Hard.).
* We can not get a restraining order to forbid the exploiting HHA from contacting Dad (no physical violence, "its not harassment if Dad WANTS contact with her").
* The state Adult Protective Services is stepping out saying their job is done because Dad's assets will be protected once we get a conservator named.
* We can not get a court order to have him placed in assisted living.
The highly recommended elder law atty's less than helpful suggestion is "pick dad up to go shopping for groceries and then drop him off at the assisted living facility instead". Per the lawyer, "a court order is just a piece of paper and there is no one that will enforce it" (The police will not get involved).
* There is no other family willing to engage. In the last month Dad has fired his CPA, his rental property manager, PCP Dr. etc, so there is no one else to bring into the picture that Dad might listen to.
So. We're sitting here trying to figure out if we should even petition for guardianship. Once made guardian, we're responsible to the court and liable for Dad's care, but we would have absolutely no control of providing that care. Short of 24 hour a day home health aides (unaffordable @ $18K PER MONTH), there is no way to stop dad from doing things like repainting his house (climbing ladders, going into the crawl space under his ground set trailer, etc) and walking 6 miles (one way) to some place that he "has to go to NOW" rather than wait for some one to give him a ride.
Questions:
What options are there to get somebody into assisted living/memory care against their will?
How can a guardian ensure health and safety without any control of the living environment?
Any ideas here?