My mother lives in Kentucky, has dementia and is in a nursing home. I need to be able to liquidate her assets to pay for care. She went downhill so fast there wasn't time to get a POA, so I'm trying to file for appointment of fiduciary without a lawyer since I'm already saddled with her house bills until I can get it sold. Was wondering if anyone had experience with this process? I'm having a hard time getting any direction from the court or mental health/guardianship division.
The answer is firstly, however:
No, there will be no one appointed now without a filing in court. If you feel capable of going to court alone you can file to be her conservator and then YOU can hire a Licensed Fiduciary if you wish. In some areas a Social Worker can get you appointed as her "temporary guardian". You need to understand the duties of keeping an accounting of every penny into and every penny out of your Mom's accounts, sales, and etc, of filing taxes for her, and so on.
You also need all of this to file for medicaid for her. If she still has assets in accounts, and she is in a nursing home, contact the administration to find out how you can get help through their social worker, or to let them know she has assets that you cannot help her liquidate so she can pay for her care. Ask them for clues how to proceed.
This will take an attorney's help and you will honestly have to be there. You will be compensated for your expenditures out of your Mom's estate after you are appointed her guardian or conservator, but again, you must know you are capable of doing this. You would be having to keep records. You would need files.
IF you cannot do any of this, then relax, you aren't her guardian or her POA. Let her Nursing Home know that YES, she does have assets and NO you cannot access them, aren't capable of managing court and record keeping, and would agree that she should have state conservatorship. At that point the court and state can take over. They are then responsible for appointing a Fiduciary to manage her care. You will not have input into what is sold, when, or how or where she is placed,as you will have given conservatorship to the state to manage for your Mom.
I wish you luck. I hope you will let us know how you proceed, how it goes for you. This info is invaluable to others with this same problem.]
1. In my area, various law firms offer limited free advice to seniors, through the local senior center, and on various topics. I don't know if they offer to seniors out of that particular area, but it's worth a try.
I think many of them do this to identify potential clients, so keep that in mind if you ask for advice. They may even offer a discount on their services.
2. As an alternative to getting advice from a court or mental health/guardianship division, search online for the local court, or state court rules. They used to be published in print, but I'm sure publication now also includes online access.
Court rules outline procedure and requirements for various levels of courts.
3. Check the KY state website for any senior agencies; Michigan did (I don't know if it still does as I haven't had to use it in some time). Advice was free, and could last as long as an hour, depending on the issue.
Do as much homework as you can first so you can limit the time required to get as much information as you can.
4. Also check the KY website for assistance to seniors; some counties may also offer limited advice/assistance.
5. A kind of "backhanded" way to get information from unwilling public staff is to ask a specific question, with a specific solution, i.e., should you do x, y and z? If not, you might at least get a yes or a not to narrow down the issues.
6. Also check your local area's (city, township, etc.) website to determine if limited free assistance is offered, for seniors, or for income limited caregivers.
Some law schools also offer limited free assistance.
7. Another option is to limit your requests to what forms are needed. Study them, then call again if you have to. If the advice is limited, staff might be more inclined to be of assistance.
https://www.agingcare.com/articles/how-to-get-guardianship-of-elderly-parents-140693.htm