How difficult is it to get guardianship of an elderly parent?

If yiu want to contest a guardianship do you really need a lawyer? Can you complete the necessary forms yourself and go to the appointed court date? I don't have the money for an attorney and my sister is using my mother's money to file for guardianship. (She has the POA) Doesn't sound fair to me.

The decision has been made by my mother children (4) that a guardian needs to be appointed for her. We have decided which one would take on this responsibility and she is willing (already in this role--just not legally documented). We have checked with a lawyer and his fee is too expensive for handling of this matter ($1500.00). We could do the paper work ourself but we are unable to locate the form. Can you direct me to the correct website for this form.

Thanks, would like to know if anyone has had to get guardianship and what it was like. I am very frustrated.

Guardianship requires proving the person is incompetent. The person must actually be given notice that this is being filed and have a chance to contest it. The financial POA during the life of the person and the executor after the death of the person handle the finances. Typicaly, an alternate or contingent POA is named in case the original POA resigns, dies, or otherwise cannot continue, and the person themself can revoke the POA or change it to a different person. A lot depends on exactly how the papers are written up. So talking to the lawyer who did the papers would be ideal.

A health care POA or "proxy" would be a VERY good thing, if nothing else, so you can get information. There were many times I would not have been given any had I not produced the appropriate papers for my mom. It also formally allows someone to make treatment and end of life decisions if the person cannot. If separate people can have financial and health care POAs it may be ideal. Do you feel like you know what Mom would and would not want done in case of a life-threatening illness? That conversation, though difficult, is a lot better than having to go through guardianship, which can be a little expensive as well.

I hope that helps. And I hope I will not ever have to get guardianship of my mom....I have both the POAs and that will probably be enough. There are circumstances when you really need it to protect someone from themself or from others who would take advantage, and I also hope your situation is not one of those!

I have two parents with mental problems and I'm the only child. The dad is a Sociopath/bully and very narcissistic. They are 89 and 78 years old. He ---is doing Trusts and 30-year Edward Jones stuff to keep the money away from Mom, even if he dies. Even if he dies, and she out lives him, She will get nothing.! She just signs her life away so that he will continue to love her. HA HA Sociopaths love no one. And I do not know how to help her. I wish there was a way to get Guardianship over HIM. Because Mom doesn't care. All she is concerned with is staying in her own home.

I did get guardianship of my mother. I started out by having a medicare attorney help me draw up a caregiver's contract in order to "spend down" my mother's money. She did not have a lot but this caregiver's contract is still in place. At this point I had not considered guardianship. I moved to another state and decided that it would be beneficial for me to have guardianship. I have four siblings and none of them felt that they could care for Mom. I hired an attorney and started the process. We held a hearing and 2 of my siblings came down opposed to my guardianship. They did not want to keep my mother. Their disagreement caused me to have to hire two more attorneys so the expense went up. We ended up holding two hearings and I did get guardianship. My brother was appointed conservator. I found that you never know how your siblings will react. I followed the advice of my attorney at every step. It was evident during both hearings that my two siblings were just trying to cause problems and were not concerned about our mother's care. The cost was around $25,000.

Abdea - consider calling Adult Protective Services, and/or an eldercare lawyer. It is NOT legit to make someone sign things if they are not competent.

MyLadyAlexis, there is not a faster way than going through the court system to get guardianship. Have you seen a lawyer about this?

Why is your sister filing for guardianship if she has the POA? She needs to realize that she will be under the watchful eye of the courts if she gets guardianship.Is your Mom incompetent? She will have to be ruled incompetent by the court.

As for you getting a lawyer, I don't know but would think not. For you to contest the guardianship would be a pain in the butt to your sister. So by all means contest it.

You need him to sign a durable and a medical POA for you to be able to legally help him. If he is either not willing or not able to sign, then you will have to file for guardianship.