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anonymous982783 Asked November 2019

How to deal with my deceased brother's adult children?

I am 66 years old single women. I have been divorced my 20 years. My two daughters and their family live 2 thousands miles away.


I moved in to my 90 years old mother’s home 3 years ago so she could stay in her home. I have my own income and I pay for all my expenses. I do not take any money from my mother. The family says I am living rent free. I do all the cooking, cleaning, yard work everything. I help with my mother's daily shower and hygiene.


My deceased brother's son is 43 yrs old and brother's daughter is 50. When they come for a visit they act as if they are in charge and I am the help. I have asked that the great grandchildren 10,11 and 12 years old not to play hide and seek in my mother's bedrooms ever time they come for a visit for the last 2 years. My niece told my mother that she wanted her son to have the same experience she had as a child coming to grandma house with no restrictions.


A lot of passive aggressive remarks and body language. This is my grandma’s house and I can do whatever I want attitude.


I admit out of spite, I ask them not to get in the refrigerator and kitchen cabinets with out asking. I also asked them not to eat in the living room with out a plate.


I put a lock on the stand alone garage. It has never had a lock. My nephew went out to the garage and complained about it being messy to his grandma. He said to my mother I had a hard time getting around in the garage because it is messy and I don’t know what I going to do about it yet. My belongings and furniture is stored in the garage. The garage is full of a lot of stuff but, not messy. He did not have reason to be out in the garage anyway. He wanted to get his grandfather’s table saw and take it to his home. My father is deceased.


This all seems childish and silly. The adult grandchildren say I don’t make them feel welcome coming for visits. I have asked them to call before they come so I can have their grandma ready for a visit. They live 40 minutes away and come by 3 or 4 times a year. Now they do not call my mother or come over at all.


Maybe my problem is that no one has said thank you for taking care of their grandma. No one ever does anything for free or just because, my mother writes them a check for changing a light bulb.


I never had a dispute with my niece and nephew always a good relationship. Now I don’t like them and they do not like me.


I truly do not want to apologize to them but someone has to be a grown up.


I feel ashamed of my behavior and it is my fault that they do not call or come to see my mother. Which means she does not get to see her great grandchildren.


My mother can not live alone and no one is going to quit their job and lives and move in to take care of her.


My mother is easy to live with and care for. We have a good relationship. She stays in the bed all day watching old western movie and t v shows. Having visitors is good for her and makes her happy. She enjoys visits but she ready for them to leave after 30 minutes.

Daughterof1930 Nov 2019
Have your mother call and invite the relatives to visit. Before they come have whatever belongings of yours secured so they won’t be bothered. And when they visit, leave before they come, treat yourself to a nice day out and do activities you enjoy, returning after they’ve gone. Tell your mother you want them to have a chance to have a nice visit and for her to give them your best regards. Your mom can tell them when she is tired and ready for rest

Isthisrealyreal Nov 2019
I am surprised that they are so immature that they can't see that grandma has aged and things have changed.

I would have to say, if you want your children to have the same experience at grandma's house then take them to their grandma's house, this is great granny and it is different. You say their visits make her happy and it is only 3 or 4 times a year. Can you deal with the rambunctious little ones for a visit, it sounds like you get nervous and your mom probably feels the tension and it increases her agitation, just like a baby feeding off it's mommas feelings.

I think locking your personal belongings is completely okay. I think anything done out of spite is not good.

I think that apologizing for your personal behavior is a good way to build a bridge. Write down your points about why grandma can't handle over stimulation and compromise with what the kids can do. Just sitting is a little stiff and probably won't work. Maybe hide and seek with rules about volume and locations, but make sure that your mom doesn't enjoy watching them play. I personally love to watch children playing games that are rambunctious and busy, to much screen time for youngsters nowadays.

I would also do some research about how much a 24/7 caregiver would cost and let them know that you are willing to let them hire caregivers and you would happily start paying rent when you are no longer providing caregiving services that you are not being paid for.
DofNPDmother Nov 2019
Excellent comment in last paragraph!!

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anonymous982783 Nov 2019
My son n laws mother passed away yesterday. My family will be making the 2,000 mile trip here. They are staying in a local hotel.
Maybe with my daughters support and backing me we can have the needed conversation with my brothers children. The family need to do there own research about elder care and aging. Anyway
My mothers home is a two bedroom home with a sunroom not a lot space. When we have company the house fills up the volume goes up, a lot of activity.
I don’t no how to explain the effect of over stimulation for my mother. What I go through to settle her.
All I want is..when they come for a visit have the children bring their toys or electronics or play with toys and art supplies here and play nicely. No run and playing hide n go seek in the house. Just be mindful that I do live here and it is to my home too and that I am here to make it possible for her to stay in her home.

NeedHelpWithMom Nov 2019
The short answer is that they don’t have a clue as to how you feel. It’s normal for you to feel annoyed and I wouldn’t want to be around them. Is it possible that when they visit you can get away?

anonymous912123 Nov 2019
Why not just move on? Get out of the circle, place your mother in AL, restart your life. No need for anyone to quit their job to care form your mother. She has lived her life, everyone else needs to do the same, including you.

You need your own life, your own space. It will come eventually, she will die, then what?
NeedHelpWithMom Nov 2019
So true. Things don’t always work out as we want them to.
BeckyT Nov 2019
If your Mother prefers to stay in her home, these so-called “adult” grandchildren get you as part of the deal. That means that since you live there, it is your house too! So, you live there AND your are your Mother’s full time caregiver - that gives you all kinds of authority, you just need to take it. You can set visiting hours (when your Mom will be at her best for the day). You can set the length of the visit (so Mom doesn’t get unnecessarily tied). You absolutely can set rules about hellions tearing up the house, or you can make them stop when they try. Make it all about your Mom. Phrase it all as her caregiver.

Also, you need to protect Mom’s stuff and her money if you think they are leaning on her too hard or too often. Stay strong and stand for your Mom.

NYDaughterInLaw Nov 2019
Your story is a good example of why, in my opinion, no one should take on the responsibility of caregiving without having the authority to do so i.e. having durable power of attorney both medical and financial.

You are being treated like a guest in your own home, like unpaid help, and considered a freeloader by your other family members who haven't the slightest idea of what it's like to care for an aging parent.

Your nieces and nephews are adults. One of those two bedrooms is yours, and it's your personal space. Asking a 43 year old and a 50 year old to stop their children from invading your space should not create havoc. If grandma allows them to play in her bedroom, that's her business. Still, the children should ask for permission and knock before entering a bedroom or any room with a closed door.

The garage is where you keep your belongings. Your nephew should have asked for permission to go in there and should have asked grandma if he could have the table saw. If your grandma agreed, he needs to make arrangements with you to get it out of there because that involves touching your belongings. He sounds quite entitled and disrespectful of other people's things.

You earn your own money; therefore, I would hire a weekly housekeeper instead of doing all the cleaning yourself. If your mother died tomorrow, what would happen to you and to the house where you live? A long battle over inheritance? I know it's unpleasant to think about but your mother is 90 and things can change very fast.

And your mother needs to give someone the authority to make decisions for her should she become unable to do so. Get yourself and your mother consults to an elder law attorney.

cetude Nov 2019
It sounds like they are waiting for her to die so they can get the house and assets. If she is "easy to care for" I assume she can manage her own bowels and bladder, which would qualify her for assisted living. Nobody needs to quit their job and take care of her. If she just needs occasional supervision I would consider assisted living. If she is still "with it" she really needs to establish Power of Attorney in case something happens to her, and share bank accounts to manage the household. My mom had very end stages of Alzheimer's at 90 and she was kept alive with a PEG feeding tube since she forgot how to swallow food/water, and was practically brain dead that she could not even smile or move her arms/legs so I had to do range of motion exercise to prevent her from becoming permanently contractured. I even had to induce bowel movements since she could not even do that. With a hoyer lift I put her in the living room daily for hours, and back to bed. My relationship with her was basically feeding one end, cleaning the other, and keeping her clean. Her body was amazingly healthy because I maintained her life support. If I did not have POA I'd be really screwed. She was VERY expensive. One single diaper was 50 cents and she would go through about four a day, which means $120 a month just for diapers. The gloves and tube feedings were also quite costly. Disposable bed pads were essential for bowel movement day. Those cost a lot. Enemas. Tons of wipes..medications...but she did not die of Alzheimer's. Rinseless bed bath bottles were about $10 a bottle. Lotrisome cream for rash. It just kept on going and going. She had liver cancer and died from that, and at home. I took care of her for YEARS and YEARS. She died pain free, and her skin was in perfect condition. Strange all the years I battled Alzheimer's it was her liver that killed her. From onset of symptoms to death was less than a week. She could have been a walkie-talkie self caring person and died the same way!

I never regretted the feeding tube. She did not have to die of dehydration. I fired hospice when they tried to talk me out of it...but it can take 2 to 3 weeks to die of dehydration and I cannot possibly watch someone I Love die like that. That's MONSTROUS!

I told my brothers when mom dies it will NOT BE ME that does it. God will kill her. And indeed God took her--stole her from me. I had nothing to do with it but nobody on this planet could have given her better care than that I. Nobody.
1GivingUp Nov 2019
In regard to the comment about the family waiting for their grandmother to die to take the assets, in your situation, did you have a conflict or contest of the will due to you putting in a lot more work? Who of you and your siblings ended up with more assets in the end? You see, to me to put in love to a parent's care does not always mean that the Will will magically divide the assets according to efforts made by a caregiver, or to be fair. Would you in essence put your self first because you took care of her more and expect more from the will? Or do you all get along with your siblings? I am truly curious as I am going through an end stage situation and I am appalled by my siblings' behaviors. I was their caretaker as a child, and I had to take on more than I could chew... and I also kept them safe and such, but I allowed the one to take over as POA not to discard me and push me out of the famiily, like they did....and to me this is where America is failing...it is sad to see, and everyone should simply get their share and let rivalry be gone. I would like to know if it was or is the same for you now?
Llamalover47 Nov 2019
You are the one in charge here. Put your foot down and say this is the way it is going to be. You're the caregiver.

1GivingUp Nov 2019
I did not read the whole post properly and am removing my comment. I would definitely find some more visitors in the area for her, maybe even take her to a day program once in a while to keep her interested in things. I heard of someone coming in to the home to do an art class with seniors recently.

I would try to write the others a long letter explaining your feelings and asking them to call you when they are ready to. Explain that you love them and that you are indeed not taking any money and find that the working in the home is unpaid, and so, rent is not an issue. Your mother has enough pension to cover the cost of electricity and such. This will lay to rest thier suspicions because most of us come from suspicious families...aka dysfunctional.

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