My mother is 58. She is disabled and we are currently waiting for disability to be approved. This process has been going on for 18 months now. The state of MD has some very old laws on the books about children having to take care of their "elderly" parents. Even though she doesn't qualify for any elder programs. She isn't contributing monetarily or otherwise to my household and yet she is draining my finances for her medication, and she has become verbally and physically abusive to my two daughters. How do I get her out of my home?
for 72 hours.If she hits a policeman or woman ,doctor or nurse,it will solidify your case.Then she will be in the system and be assigned a caseworker.Have you contacted the doctor about this? They should be your disposal to get her out.Laws are laws but there will always be ways around them.You will likely need a lawyer to help with social security , medical documentation is vital. I know...the more members of the medical community you have behind you the better.Good luck and stay in touch
As a possible alternative, how old are your daughters? Would child protection services be of some assistance, perhaps?
Once a child hits 18 yrs old or adult, you are on your own in the USA. So the daughters will not have a claim on you after 18 yrs old and neither does your 58 yr old mother.
Good luck.
Looking up online what you might be up against though, I can see where you are coming from. If a parent is "impoverished"..."Another Maryland statute prohibits nursing homes from going after an adult child to pay a parent's unpaid bill, unless the offspring agreed in writing to be financially responsible, said Jason Frank, an elder-law attorney in Lutherville. He is participating in a webinar Monday with Pearson on filial support laws for the American Bar Association. A Maryland nursing home, though, can ask the court to force a child acting on behalf of a parent to file an application for Medicaid, Frank said. The child faces up to a $10,000 civil fine for not doing so, he said. But Maryland's filial support law comes into play when a parent is under the care of a state psychiatric hospital, Frank said. If the parent is under age 65, the state can use the law to get children to reimburse the state for the parent's care, Frank said." (articles.baltimoresun.com/2013-04-05/business/bs-bz-filial-support-20130401_1_care-facility-laws-filial).
I take it she has no income and no health care insurance until the SSI comes through (didn't apply under the PPACA (Obamacare) either?) That's nuts you have to pay for her meds, and she probably needs a re-eval of her current meds to see if they can get her anything for depression if she is also depressed as well as flat broke. I hope you have documented what you have paid and can reimburse yourself when it comes through.
Without that, there are some things you should know....
Even before she gets Disability, she might qualify for Welfare helps, even while living under your roof, which could include food-stamps/card, Medicaid, small stipend, etc. services as a person on low-income.
YOU, depending on the circumstances, MIGHT qualify to get paid a little as her caregiver--depending on how the evaluations go.
BEFORE you try to apply to be paid as a caregiver, though, it sounds like you have already learned the hard way the difficulties of having a cantankerous, or worse behaviors of a sick or aging parent under your roof.
There's also Food Bank foods that might be helpful--most communities have a Food Bank. Some have clothing Banks.
One larger City near us also has a Medical Equipment Bank---they loan it out for donations, and ask it to be returned once a person is done with it, so they can keep helping others. Equipment is in good working order, and they expect to get it back in good working order, and cleaned off. We borrowed a toilet seat riser, bedside commode, wheelchair, walker, then returned them...they also had beds, and all kinds of other equipment--but what they have at any time, depends on community needs...so what you seek might not be there when you first look--might need to return or keep calling to find if the item is in yet. Other sources of medical equipment are second hand stores, Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc.
There are programs to help disabled persons do ADA renovations to their living spaces, to allow wheelchair access, wheel-in shower, wider doors, etc., which Social Services or Area Agency on Aging should be able to hook you up with, if those fit.
IF she endangers you, your family members, or herself, while under your roof, or anywhere she acts out [in car while you drive her around; other locations], you need to:
===1. Call 911 to report it immediately---or as soon as you find a cell signal or phone; file a report---EVEN if she's a very good "show timer", not acting out once officer[s] get there to witness it.
Ask neighbors if they would willingly make statements about how Mom behaves--they are your witnesses, too.
Police reports funneled via the 911 system, MUST have a report filed--this can later help you...the more reports, the more evidence towards The State possibly removing her from your home.
You could alternate this with asking officers to do "well-checks"--this is where they come to the house to see what's going on, to evaluate if the elder is doing OK where they are.
These are usually requested by family and friends trying to keep an eye on an elder living alone, or in a dicey situation--not usually by family living under same roof--but it could be done--you must giver reason why you want the Well-check---like "elder not eating, not taking meds, leaving stove on, etc.
===2. Locate your nearest "Area Agency on Aging" office, and ask them to hook you up with a Social Worker to do in-home evaluations.
It should take something like 2 or more hours.
Mom may be on good behavior during it--not helpful.
They will ask her if she wants to leave your house, if she's happy there, if she feels she's being treated decently, etc. Mom may tell them [lying] that things are fine, that she wants to stay, etc.
IF mom takes a break during the process to go to her room to collect her wits, then return to the evaluation, YOU need to inform the workers doing the evaluation, how things are, that she's collecting her wits in order to keep up her charade.
You make sure that during that evaluation, only your Mom has openings to get upset, nasty, act out--not you--you must keep your calm!
Ultimately, nothing may come of it...that's what we experienced---except it's now in a file on her.
IF you have video footage or recordings of her acting out---let them have copies [copies, not originals] Same with notes from neighbors witnessing her behaviors, or store clerks, etc.
===3. ANY Doc visits you take her to:
You can write a 1-page letter to the Doc, listing Mom's behaviors.
Just write facts only, one-liners of her behaviors, and your concerns.
I had to do that for my Mom, and at one point, it got her on "drug-seeking" officially on her medical records, because the Doc remembered to check my note before just giving her narcotic pain pills "just to have on hand". It made her extremely angry when the Doc RX'd an NSAID, but it also prevented her from stockpiling Narcotics to make another suicide attempt.
===4. Any acute hospitalizations:
These are one of the events to take advantage of pushing State to take custody of Mom's care. That might mean you no longer have a legal say in your Mom's care, but--your goal is to not have her under your roof, right?
You can request a Psych eval while they are in a facility---again, those usually miss far more than they catch, especially in an elder who's been "getting by" undiagnosed and un-helped all their lives. But it will be on record.
ALSO, once the acute hospital has her under their roof, they are responsible for her.
The Hospital workers may try to force you to take her home with you on discharge BUT, if you can show just cause why that's a very bad idea, they cannot keep pushing [endangering safety and health of family members---that can include filth, hoarding, raging, abusive behaviors [that's hard to prove without bruises];
financial hardship is also harder to use as a reason to get them moved out of your home.
If you're like us, "too rich to be poor, and too poor to be rich" [a crack-dweller always falling through the cracks in systems and safety nets],
getting Welfare to help is harder...
....but if you can show that her food stuffs and supplies bought with Welfare are kept separate from the rest of the family, she should be able to get those for herself, which could help take a load off your wallet. Welfare has medicaid help for medications, too.
ALSO, one little secret Pharmaceutical companies have kept very quiet: ALL of them have various programs to help below-income patients get medications--some sliding scale, some reduced, some free, depending on how well the Doc writes the letter and prescription.
---YOU must make sure her Docs "get it" that without their help to write letters/prescriptions to apply to those programs for her, she will NOT get her meds. It might be that if she's on several meds, they might have to do that process for each of those meds.
There's also potential help from your Utility Co., but usually, that's only for the person whose name is on the bill.
You might ask other services if they have senior/disabled discounts, and how they can get them.
"Senior" is a moving target: some places say 58, some say 60, some say 62, others say 65. Some require income proof.
======I would NOT advise putting your utility bills in Mom's name, just to get subsidy, UNLESS you can also be listed on the bills and still get that reduction for her----that could cause more problems than it's worth----especially if Mom is cantankerous or, if she might have beginnings of dementia or other conditions that cause impairment of thinking.
Some folks have been lucky enough to have yard space to park a nice little RV trailer or "Park Model" unit, for their elder to have separate space in....that, unfortunately, is not legal in too many areas--most municipalities have long ago outlawed "in-law units" in the back yard.......but this is starting to change, as the huge numbers of Baby-boomers now need to live closer to family or someone who can help them a bit more as they age.
Having a separate living space could be a great help--
----but NOT if the elder does things like leaving a burner on the stove going, burning candles, or those who's dementia leaves them confused enough they forget to eat, can't do their own business, etc.
But Elders CAN usually stay in their own spaces with certain helps--meals on wheels, dial-a-ride, in-home caregivers from Welfare to help bathe, clean, cook, supervise medicines being taken, etc.
Take heart---even if your State has "old laws" promoting elders to stay with family, NO ONE wants to endanger other family, nor impoverish them to the point they also need Welfare. But they do make it real tough to break through that blockade!
=====Your task is to prove her behaviors, protect your spouse and kids, and not go broke--it's fair to bring that up, for instance:
"if I have to keep out-of-pocket-spending my income for Mom, WE will need Welfare help--we don't want to be a burden on anyone---Mom is pushing us in that direction fast, AND endangering herself and others in my household--and I have kids at home".....
BTW--You can go to the DSHS/Welfare office, to speak with a Worker there.
They can evaluate your situation.
You might need to fill out an application for your Mom [just her information, not yours...yet], to see if you can apply for help for her---IF mom is not able to come with you--that could work in your favor--but with that, you would need some sort of letter from her, authorizing you to apply on her behalf, with her ID and statements of her income. Welfare might want to send someone to the home to evaluate....THEN your income might need also documented.
But FIRST, be collecting information on Assisted Living, other care home options in your area, Social workers and what they look for on home evaluations.
PUT your ducks in a row before calling Social Services, by providing notes to her Docs about her behaviors for her files, filing Police reports via 911 on her behaviors, taking daily notes on a calendar or notebook of her behaviors and words.
Date and time and describe her behaviors and words, in a Notebook or Calendar. This helps you remember, and helps - protect you - in case anyone questions your motives, need, or your behaviors, or what really happened.
Some get low-cost surveillance programs on their computer, with webcam, that record the persons behaviors, even if you aren't there---motion-activated--- including a date/time stamp on the video, which can really help your case.
Some of those are available online, free to download; others are price-tagged; there may be other equipment needed.
My spouse found a free download, with a motion-sensor built into it, which helped us catch Mom doing a few things.
Do your best to avoid letting her jack you up into a conflict...it's very hard sometimes.
Patience is key.
Having a quiet place to go for a break, is very important too, for your sanity.
This website is a great means of morale support, too.
My Mom seemed to WANT conflict-- not just with us, but with whoever she's with for decades--always had to have a target person to rage at.....she acted like she desperately wanted to sever connections and totally ruin any good memories I ever had of her....she did a good job of that.
Do your best to prevent her doing that to you.
The longer the situation is allowed to fester, the worse it gets.
NO physical abuse is ever proper.
NO laws protect caregivers; but numerous laws protect elders.
That means, even officials will try to turn it around to make it appear as though you're the abuser, even if you are the one sitting there with bruises.
They didn't see anything happen, so they automatically assume it was your fault.
BUT, IF you are THAT desperate to let the State think you abused your elder, they will remove the elder from your home immediately....
I do NOT recommend that---but there are times when a caregiver might start thinking that is somehow a good idea, just to get them removed from the home.
Keep in contact here; keep asking questions.
We've all been dealing with caregiving for long periods of time, some of us.
It's crazy-making with no one to talk with about these problems---people here are great at it.
Without them all here, I'd probably have just rolled over and died, related to my Mom's bad behaviors here. It's really a lift to be able to talk with those who know what it's like, even when things are still really bad--it helps to share the burden and find useful suggestions, whether you tough it out and keep Mom under your roof, or get her transferred somewhere more appropriate.
Filial responsibility laws typically don't apply unless your parent has to accept financial support from the government or she incurs a nursing home or other medical bill that she has no possibility of paying. If she has no financial resources, you might be expected to pay for her care. The nursing home, hospital, government or a third party can file a lawsuit against you in states that allow it, seeking a judgment that would obligate you to pay your parent's bill.
Your Parents Must Be Indigent
Most state laws specify that your parent must be indigent before the court will rule in favor of a filial responsibility lawsuit. If the costs of your parent's care exceed her monthly Social Security benefits, the state would probably consider her indigent. Massachusetts clarifies the issue as someone who is "destitute and too infirm" to care for herself.
The information provided on Lawyers.com is not legal advice, {END QUOTE}
The states that have filial responsibility laws on their books in some shape or form are Alaska, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Best of luck to you!
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My doctor, bless him, had sent my medical records and prognosis to the lawyer. Even with the damage to my heart I have done better than expected and am so grateful that I don't have to work in addition to the disability checks. (or live in low income housing ) .husband has a good pension, I don't.
I would suggest you get the medical records from her doctor if he agrees she should get disability. Maybe then a social worker will have something to work with to get her better care. I feel sympathy for your situation.
Mom's psychiatrist told me some of the same things mentioned here: that if she gets physically abusive (which she hasn't), call 911 and they HAVE to take her away, even if it's only for 72 hrs., but then she's in the system, and keep calling them until it gets the attention of the right person (I'll be praying for Divine Intervention, cuz that's what it takes, trust me). You're not alone, believe me. Let us know how you are.
Has your Mom been diagnosed with any sort of mental illness? That typically speeds the SSDI approval process and may give you more options for getting her into some sort of facility.
Good luck to you, this is a crummy situation to be in.