Assisted Living is so expensive, can the wards rent a place close to family?

Obviously they are not safe alone and need the 24/7 care that is provided by Assisted Living. As a Guardian, I would view your option as unsafe and not approve it.

Pam..why jump to the conclusion they are not safe? OP said they can live independently just need help with memory..(taking meds, and such)

Coney, I would talk to the guardian and discuss this as a possibility. Of course, the degree of your commitment to this arrangement has to be seriously considered. It is no small thing to do this. You need to realize that this will likely keep getting worse thru the coming years and this will be a REAL burden on you. Think it over carefully, then discuss it.

What are the impairments of this couple? Are the memory issues part of dementia?

For both my husband and my mother, (both with dementia), we made the decision not to use Assisted Living facilities, opting instead to provide the assistance needed in private homes -- mine for my husband, and my sister's for our mother. We reasoned that as long as they only needed "assistance" we would provide it, and when they needed more, then they could go to a nursing home. It worked well in both cases. With various kinds of help I was able to keep my husband home through hospice care. My mother moved into a nursing home after 14 months, and lived there another 29 months.

It was not easy. It did require in-home help. Could we have been the "assisted" part of assisted living if our loved ones were living next door, instead of in our homes? I honestly do not think so. Not with dementia in the picture, and not with my mother's mobility issues.

I don't think there is any legal reason why the wards could not rent a place close to family. But there may be many practical barriers. It is worth discussing with the guardian.

As for the costs, I really wouldn't worry about that. If the wards needed a guardian there health is such that all of their assets will no doubt be spent in their care, unless they die soon. If they run out of money in assisted living, the guardian is responsible for making arrangements for them, such as applying for Medicaid.

Saving money isn't a good reason for making these kinds of decisions. Doing what is best for the wards is.

By the way, I have absolutely nothing against Assisted Living Facilities. My daughter works at one and I have the utmost respect for the care they provide. My decision not use ALF had to do with what was best in our particular circumstances, not a rejection of that kind of care center.

Katie, guardianship is not granted without much investigation into someone's capacity to function on their own. I think Pam is correct in her conclusion that a person who needs a guardian and a conservator cannot live on their own with someone stopping in twice a day.

Of course there is more to this story. Im sure.

ConeyCat, neither the Guardian or Conservator can rent a home to these folks. Collecting rent from the ward would upset the Judge. The courts would quickly un-appoint these people, as they should. Placement is only done with the approval of the judge; if it was presented that they will move to assisted living, and the judge approved that, it must be done. Avoid a conflict of interest.

The judge actually ruled that they could still drive and vote.....but they were letting their bills go late and having utilities cut off, because they were paranoid that people knew their banking information so they'd close accounts every few weeks and open another one...etc. We've decided not to go the way of the home rental....they'll just live in the assisted living until they run out of funds and then the guardian will need to make a decision at that point for future care. Thank you everyone for your reply :). I was not sure about the house rental but kept getting asked about it by the guardian and figured I'd just put this out there and ask.

The judge never ruled that they be moved in to an assisted living.....he left that as a decision for the guardian. The guardian made that decision with the wards, other avenues were just being explored because both are in decent health and will most likely outlive their funds. Neither of them understand that.....they just like the nice, clean, friendly assisted living facility and want to live there.