My mother has dementia and is in assisted living facility. She did not previously assign a POA. Although she has some funds in the bank, the bank will not transfer funds from her one account to another the the facility automatically withdrawals from due to mom's diminished capacity. So my sister and i think our only option is to apply for guardianship but we have heard its expensive and we can't really afford it. What can we do?
Have you taken mom to the bank in person to explain her request?
Has a lawyer spoken to her and determined that she no longer can assign a POA?
The alternative may be to contact your county/state APS office or other seniors agency to get direction on having her made a ward of the state. A guardian would be appointed by a judge. The administration at the nursing home would probably be able to advise you on how to go about this. They want to keep the rooms filled. It would be in their interest to free up the money from this bank.
Any cost that comes out of your pocket can be reimbursed to you from her account.
Yes it can get expensive. It can be frustrating. There is a lot of paperwork.
I agree with BarbBrooklyn is there a way to get your mom to the bank? Is it possible to set up a way that the one account will automatically transfer $XXX. over to the other account monthly?
HOWEVER know that you actually WANT this. You now will be in charge of all decisions and all accounts and you will be working hard to keep all of this straight as POA for all accounts. You need to know how to keep good files, good books, and etc. You may prefer a court appointed guardian for your Mother. You may want to speak with a social worker about how to proceed. Someone in Estate Management.
Or pay at least for that 400.00 hour of time to ask questions of an Elder Law Attorney. Try to get a referral to a good and decent one and make it clear you are paying an hour to ask about OPTIONS going forward; make it clear that you do not have a lot of funds; some work with senior centers and actually donate hours and time.
Gather all the info you can. Go to Senior Centers if in your area. I hope others on forum have some ideas of where you can seek info.
Geaton is correct that the State may take guardianship. If they will I say LET THEM. It is hard work. They know how to do it, and will let you know what they need. Talk to the facility about the possiblity of that. Try not to get too crazy and look on this, the two of you, as information gathering time. An hour of time with the Elder Law guy will likely take 200.00 of the purses of each of you, but may give good info. Have the questions right there.
How much would it cost to get guardianship on a dementia Mom (give her details as you know them)
What would happen if we allow the State to take guardianship?
and whatever other questions you have.
Good luck. Let us know what you learn.
DH has POA for both his parents and is the succession trustee if they are unable, and we still had neuropsych evaluations done on them and that doctor wrote a letter to say each of them is not competent to make any financial and medical decisions. Which is true. It was a lot of hoops to jump thru even with the POA. Their POA was done 20 years ago so we had banks telling us the POA was old, which did not make it invalid but we still had to prove a bunch of stuff. If there are symptoms, Medicare does pay for neuropsych evaluation if family doctor writes order.
They can help you with this matter.
If not, check your area for Legal Aid. There should be some sort of free/low cost legal services where you live.
https://www.lawyers.com/ask-a-lawyer/family-law/how-much-does-guardianship-cost-1615061.html
Be aware that the dollar amounts listed in the responses from the attorneys are ALL from 2013, not 2019.
The amounts vary, but are much more than $45. The actual amounts will vary by state and/or locality and generally you WILL need an attorney. This isn't like applying for a license, it can be very complicated.
The courts will generally appoint an attorney to represent the person in question AND can order doctor assessment/tests. These all cost money too.
BTW, just to clarify for everyone:
Guardianship is more like MPOA - you have oversight for the PERSON.
Conservatorship is more like DPOA - you have oversight for financial and other decisions.
More than likely both would be needed, which will cost more.
Often EC attorneys will give you a first consult for free (likely 1/2 hour or so) where you can ask a lot of questions and find out what they think the best/worst case of costs would be. I would find 2-3 at least, and have a list of questions prepared, and take notes during each consult.
The assets of the person who needs guardianship are generally used to cover these costs. Given that you cannot access those assets at this time, you would have to add that to the list of queries for the attorneys.
**IF she has enough, it could go one of two ways - they could allow most of it to wait for appointment when you would have access OR allow you to make payments and get reimbursed after appointment. Keep VERY good records/receipts of anything you spend of your own money.
**IF she doesn't have assets for this, then add to your list of questions whether there are any low cost options to help you out.
I do know from having dealt with EC attorney for dad (mom was still capable, but difficult to work with!) that the process CAN be sped up in cases of real need. You should ask about this too, if there is a serious need to get those funds moving!
In a response to someone else's comment, I posted this:
https://www.lawyers.com/ask-a-lawyer/family-law/how-much-does-guardianship-cost-1615061.html
It is OLD, from 2013, but you can see from the legal responses to the query that the costs can vary a lot. Another note from that post is that what you need for accessing finances is Conservatorship. Guardianship is generally for overseeing the person and their care. Conservatorship is for managing finances, etc. In your case it would likely be best to have both. This will increase the cost as there would be additional filing fees and legal aid, but again, ask the attorneys during your consults.
Handing over one or both of these to the state takes you/family out of the picture. You have no say in where they live, how their remaining assets are used, medical care, nothing. Personally I wouldn't do that. If there were limited/no funds and no love for/from the person (there are "distant" parents/other LOs, or even belligerent ones), then perhaps, but in your case y'all care for your mom!