I have a previous post on here describing my situation in some detail, but I can easily summarize it at this point. I am the medical proxy, executor and was daily care giver for my grandmother for years. At one point I had my cousin assist with the day to day phone calls (which involved some bill paying responsibilities). About a year ago she had a stroke. We took her to the hospital, then temporarily into an assisted living while we got the house ready (needed the bathroom retro fit and some doorways widened). A year later she is still in the home. My cousin has weaseled his was into being a signer (possibly POA) over one of the main bank accounts and has left her to rot in the assisted living facility with no further treatment of her condition. He is trying to sell the house (which I am literally stopping by physically making sure someone is here 24/7), increasing her credit on accounts he should not have access too and basically bleeding her dry while she suffers. If I call an attorney they want a boatload of money because I assume they expect him to spend on a top legal defense (which is probably a good assumption). I want her home, I need some assistance to make that happen, but after that he can choke on the money - I just don't know how to start. I am afraid if I jump into anything and blow the element of surprise I could do more damage then good. What I would like: Temporary order of protection not allowing him to empty anymore contents of the house (he taken / stolen / sold / thrown out a lot - she's not even dead yet, but the house is near empty), or manipulate its status. 3rd party audit of financial activity over the past year and some form of trust to proceed. And investigation of criminal activities by my cousin. That's hard for me to say, I am not the "call the police" type, but this is deplorable behavior. I just never have called the police or any government agency - so this is all new to me. I thank you in advance for any information. This woman worked her whole life and clearly had one wish - to die in her home and not have her life work squandered. Please help me at least give her that...
Are you in fact pretty sure that your grandmother has given your cousin financial power of attorney? You dangle it as a possibility. Well, very often a person will appoint financial and medical POAs and get all the paperwork done at the same time. And, previously you were co-operating with this cousin.
When did your respective views begin to diverge so disastrously?
By the way, as your grandmother's health proxy it is up to you to make decisions on medical treatment. If she hasn't received treatment she would have benefited from...
I am beginning to think a court might appoint an independent third party as guardian.
Since then, he has liquidated everything he can get his hands on and put it into that account so he can "manage" it. Even attempting to sell the house and take possessions out of it.
I just want her home. He has literally hijacked her. Now I am stuck spending on a trial and everything else,when that money could be put towards her care. Its all unnecessary waste.
It sounds like a lot of things went on and if you were in charge and they happened during that time, they may want to appoint a neutral person who will report to the court.
Plus, there's a paper trail, so, if someone has mishandled money, I'd inquire if law enforcement can help. Inquire if the bank was proper in allowing a person who is not authorized to dispose of her money. Most places, it takes an act of congress to handle another's funds, even with proper paperwork, so, I'd explore what happened.