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Agm0540 Asked November 2022

Can a POA take her mother from the home, where I take care of her, and not let us know where she is or what's going on?

My sister-in-law has power of attorney. She has come to the house that I take care of my mother-in-law in and taken her out and I do not know where she is. I don't know if she has put her in a lockdown facility, a psychiatric ward, a nursing home or if she's at her house (which I doubt), but I am worried sick and none of the stuff that she's been doing since she's had power of attorney seems to be legal. Nobody seems to think it's bad enough to open an investigation. She has taken money but hasn't helped us take care of her mother. Not one dime of her mother's social security has been seen. She has been told that she is completely broke and that she's not even going to make it to the next month. I have tried to get so many people to listen and help me speak up for my mother-in-law because I do not feel that anything my sister-in-law is doing is right, much less legal. The advocate for the elderly came in on behalf of my sister-in-law, they didn't come out whenever I called them and asked them to open something about my sister not helping take care of my mother-in-law, but when she asked him to come out, they did. They had the same outcome as DCF or adult protective services, they were going to open an investigation on my sister-in-law because she has no answers where the money is and has no reason for this money to be missing. Nobody has done anything yet, I keep having hope people are going to help and they just seem to go away, which my sister-in-law has all the money to do that. She has taken everything from my mother-in-law including her house and nobody thinks that these things are a problem or worth taking a closer look at. She has now taken hospice off my mother-in-law's case and there's no one that I can even call to find out where my mother-in-law I or how is she doing. My husband is her son, and she will not answer us, talk to us, or let us know what is going. There must be something that I can do. There must be somebody that can help me investigate what's going on and see everything that she's doing it isn't right. She has liquidated all her assets anything that was in the will has already been liquidated and there's no record of the money, it's just gone. Something has got to be done here, this isn't right. If anybody has a situation like this or can give me some advice, I'd really appreciate it. I don't know where my mother-in-law is, and I know that she's not being taken care of. Thank you.

Luta65 Nov 2022
Agm,

It sounds like you been pigeon-holed as a trouble maker by these agencies and likely as a result of your SIL casting you as such in initial investigations. It is unlikely that your MIL is "not being taken care of" because your SIL would act to avoid any scrutiny. That said, she may be placed in a substandard care facility.

Your husband is the only 'interested party' in this case and you need to step back; he needs to be the one making the calls. You need to know how and where your MIL is, period.

Her son can file as an 'interested party' in a vulnerable adult case with the local court. This requires a filing to get a judge to look at this and uphold his rights. This is complex and begs for an attorney; you may be able to find one reduced-fee or pro-bono through various state aged justice agencies. Otherwise, you have to do it yourself using the state self-help papers and guides - all readily available for download with instructions. It's not easy to do pro se, but you can do it. His sib has zero right to keep basic information from you and the Court will Order that your SIL provide what you are asking for. This can be done on an expediated basis.

Additionally and further down the road, you may have a claim against her estate from the care that you provided. By having your MIL living with you, you saved her estate vast sums and deserve to see some of that back. I hope you have your documentation in order, you'll need it.

I think that the main barrier here is that you are the one making the calls, it needs to be her son. You need to step back, take a breath, and believe that your MIL is not abandoned on the streets somewhere. Just that note of frantic is enough to be off-putting to state agencies that have been put off the trail by your SIL. He has to be the one dealing with this now.

I wish you the best and please, keep us posted.

cxmoody Nov 2022
Sounds like the police welfare call is a good idea.

Let us know what they find.

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Agm0540 Nov 2022
I I have called the police I have called attorneys I have called DCF also advocates for the elderly and they have promised me that they would look into things and they have done nothing when I called them they said that I didn't have a complaint and the next day they came out here well that was for what she called and complained on me for which was unfounded and was not anything like what they thought so they came out here they did a home check they did a check with my mother-in-law with me with my husband and they decided that there was no evidence there was no nothing founded they closed the case. well I found out later they weren't here for what I called them and told them the report on my sister-in-law they were here because my sister in-law had called and said that I was financially exploiting my mother-in-law I went to the police office twice and made two different reports about what she's done and they said basically they couldn't do anything it was more civil and I needed to get a lawyer. I called lawyers and what they said was they needed money to do a guardianship or to do any kind of anything into my sister-in-law she took all of the money she took all of my husband's mon now my sister-in-law has my mother-in-law and we don't know what's going on where she's at she don't have her glasses she don't have clothes nothing. Her family has not heard from her, nobody has heard anything about where Mom is or where she's staying if she's okay nothing. I guess I'm going to call the police department and have them do a welfare check on my sister-in-law's so that at least we all know if she's okay and if she is I hate to say it but still alive even or if she's locked up in some mental ward. My sister-in-law has the right to do anything and everything. That's what it feels like and it's not for her mom! I mean I do not know what else I could do.

cxmoody Nov 2022
Hi.

You’ve written about your concerns about your MIL through this past summer.

Have you called the Police, or APS, as suggested? What has been the response from these agencies?

That would help with answers to your current questions.

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