I work for my Uncle who is 82. I am also his power of attorney. In the past year he has really started to slip mentally. Every month his business loses more money than he pays me. He does not want to deal with the problems or work to fix anything. I have tried over and over to make suggestions. He just wants to come to work every day and make his phone calls. His partners have recently got short with him on the phone because he is so forgetful. Customers roll their eyes at him when he is not looking. He needs to retire. He is bad at his job, but he won't listen to anyone. He just yells at everyone else and blames them. I am just waiting for the day he gets lost going home or is unable to tell what time or day it is before I begin taking over for him. Any suggestions for me? I feel bad that I am hoping he get's worse, but he is very stubborn and will not listen to reason. I hope this happens before he goes bankrupt.
Speaking of computers, one of Dad's old friends when he was at college was John Atanasoff, one of the inventors of the binary math computer. Dad had his engineering lab next door to Atanasoff's physict's lab... to hear Dad talk it sounded like the group from the TV show "Big Bang Theory" :)
OMG it is SO cool to find someone else who actually understands the allure of the old command line...and the way they could even do some cool graphical things with DOS too. Where else can a working mom enter a simple verbal command and have it followed to the letter, EVERY TIME??
So my answer is based only on cursory review of the previous posts and your most recent post.
Raid the retirement accounts? Is he serious? Are you referring to pension funds set aside specifically for that purpose? If you haven't consulted the company attorney, I would do so as I think you're on shaky ground here. How are the funds to be paid back given the declining state of the business?
I would write a letter to the neurologist, asking him to keep the shared information confidential but suggesting areas for him to pursue to explore the issues at hand. Exams can be cursory and not focus on areas that do reveal dementia and/or deficits in cognitive thinking, so you want to ensure that an accurate diagnosis is possible.
Go with him to the appointment if you can, and if in your opinion it will help in getting an accurate diagnosis. If your uncle is hostile to that idea, it may result in friction at the appointment which hampers the neurologist's ability to see the true picture. So you may end up having to let your uncle go alone, but then you won't have the benefit of the diagnosis. Tough situation to call.
I did read something to the effect that your uncle likes to call and price/appraise. Perhaps he could consider transitioning to being an independent consultant, doing pricing for other businesses in his field rather than having the responsibility of his own business. Or perhaps it's too late for this or it's unrealistic if he still needs to maintain the illusion that he can run the business himself.
So that is where I am. Watching him continue to self destruct and unable to do anything about it.