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Igel

(35,270 posts)
3. The article leaves out some info.
Tue Dec 19, 2017, 07:57 AM
Dec 2017

The woman has dementia. At some point, she should have had a guardian and custodian appointed. The best person to do this is a relative.

People suffering from dementia seldom say, "Oh, yeah, sure--please have me declared incompetent, and thank you." That's one reason there are courts--to make this kind of determination. It looks nefarious to have a relative stranger (as opposed to a strange relative) seek guardianship and, I assume, custodianship, but if the niece wasn't up to it then the option is leaving the woman there until she hurts herself severely and law enforcement fingers her for needed help.

People who relatives "try to help" often develop a lot of animus against their relatives for trying to strip them of autonomy and take control over their money. Not sure that's a "dementia" thing or not. Look at most teenagers.

And a single note from a doctor attesting to incompetence isn't enough. At least not in the state my mother was in. You start with that, collect more information, the court appoints an expert approved by the court-appointed lawyer defending the person accused of dementia ... And so it goes. During that time "coercion" is a loaded term. Such a person might do nothing; such a person might give away everything. My brother's grandmother was "coerced" by the nice woman mail carrier into giving her a lot of jewelry. Except that "coercion" was really just being a friend or at least friendly to somebody who was completely alone.

Until then, though, it's hard to prove that a person with dementia is coerced. They suffer from dementia. After that, you need a timeline: When did she do what, when was she diagnosed.

My aunt gave all her money to a nephew. "Coerced"? No, but one of the few people to actually call her up every month or so and express sympathy. She was a bit dotty, but it's unclear she suffered from any diagnosable dementia. And my SIL give a lot of cash to a church that was there and supported her for years during a long struggle with cancer. (Her family was fine, it wasn't like they were reduced to penury--she was married to the nephew who got the inheritance.)

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