I help her with things she needs as sons are hours away. She is of sound mind. She had me start cleaning out her house to sell everything and then the house, then the oldest son threatened me with vulnerable adult abuse. She still wants to sell but son gets verbally and mentally abusive to her when she brings it up and then hangs up on her. What are her rights? She can't really afford a lawyer but will run out of money on a year. He tells her he'll put everything in a dumpster just to hurt her. I don't know what to tell her. I can NOT afford to fight them in court if they sue me, but as they only come 1 or 2 times yearly I am it for appointments etc and the sons like that....
If this woman is having difficulties with her sons then she needs to address it. Don’t place yourself in the middle of their battle.
Do you know if the sons have POA?
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Whether or not she is of sound mind, he shouldn't be treating her that way. Her rights are like those of anyone else. She doesn't have to put up with it.
SHE should make a complaint about HIM. It may be a police matter. She could certainly call and ask someone at the police department if it's elder abuse and if it's an actionable offense.
As for your involvement, I don't believe that the sons could sue you for elder abuse. That would be the same sort of thing as I mentioned above - they'd have to report it to the police. There would need to be evidence of what you supposedly have done. It would be more likely that the sons would have to file a complaint against you with an Agency For Protection of Elders, or something like that.
But then, I don't know where you live and what the laws are there.
Do not tell some anything. It is none of their business. Sounds like she needs POA's setup that are not the sons. Maybe a geriatric care manager until this mess is resolved.
You can help her with magnifying or reading information and retrieving papers from her home or organizing photos and mementos.
I would not recommend that you take on the work of a professional fiduciary or estate sale manager if you don’t have any education or experience in those areas.
It is too easy for a well meaning amateur to make mistakes that expose the person that they are trying to help to loss of money or family relationships.
Although it was written with the adult children as the target audience, she may find this audiobook useful:
https://www.amazon.com/Downsizing-Family-Home-audiobook/dp/B072NZZXWZ
IMO you should stay out of this situation because her son(s) may be her PoA and working behind the scenes to manage her affairs and this lady may not remember any of this or be in denial of it.
Without knowing all the facts you may be walking into a minefield.
Either way, this is not your battle. If she does indeed run out of money in a year, the house will be gobbled up by the facility to cover her costs. If she sells it now, same. The sons might want to talk to the facility about what happens when she does run out of money before she dies.