She got two lawyers to go see my mom. My cousin had the POA taken away from me and appointed herself as POA with two lawyers that went to mom's hospital room. They did this without my knowledge and then proceeded to sell and dispose of not only all of my mom's belongings in her house but also the belongings of myself and my girlfriend that I had there until the mobile home I just moved into has been made livable. There still is a few minor things there. Is there any way I can get this stopped and get the few items of mine that are still there before she does sell them? I talked to my mom and she had no recollection of changing any POA or wills but vaguely remembers my cousin being there with two strangers but she thought that it was concerning her health and that they were doctors. She wasn't at all clear about what it was they had her sign. She just trusted my cousin thinking she was helping her with something just not sure what. What are my mother and my steps legally and how should we proceed?
It seems that there is more to this story. I am sorry that you and your girlfriend are experiencing this problem. However, we need more information so that we can give appropriate responses and/or advice.
The best advice that I can give is:
contact an attorney ASAP and see what can be done to stop your cousin from doing any more damage and to see if your cousin can be charged with "Elder Financial Abuse" or even "Theft".
They should be able to tell you if it's unethical or against hospital policy. From there you can find yourself an attorney for how to proceed.
The fact that there was not one but two attorney's there means that your cousin has covered her bases very well. Because yes, they do go to the hospital when a patient "wishes to" change POA, and they ask simple questions. They ask if the person understands that they are removing (you) from being POA and are placing instead (cousin) as POA. If she answers yes, and seems at all with it, then it is her right to assign a new POA. You need hospital records from this time (legally they are yours to see only if you are POA, but they cannot LEAVE the premises), so your lawyer at this point must request records on your behalf to look at to ascertain if the patient was being described as AOx3, or "awake and oriented times three" which means aware of person, place and time. If the patient was described in the hospital records as confused, then this is an easy court case for guardianship.
So first step lawyer, second step the lawyer requests the hospital records in that legal papers were changed by cousin and two attorneys and your claim is that your mother was not capable of making that decision at that time. If your mother was oriented it is a case LOST and a waste of money to pursue. If your Mother was confused, you have this, but not before a lot of money is spent.
You can also ask the lawyer to file for temporary guardianship of the state; then the cousin cannot move further, and she will be at a stop.
Is there a lot of money up for grabs here? Do you suspect your cousin is trying to enrich herself at your Mom's expense?
The Lawyer will also take a deposition from your Mom that she did not know what she was doing when she signed these papers.
Assuming not, though:
What's the reason for your mother's hospitalization, and how did your cousin become aware of this, especially if she wasn't on your mother's medical team.
Not to be critical, but this was about a month ago, right? When and how did you learn about it? Were you visiting your mother regularly (no criticism inferred, I'm just trying to piece together a timeline.)
Who told you there were 2 attorneys? Your mother? Did any of the hospital staff observe these transactions, and/or did they tell you? Were Living Wills or Medical POAs changed? If so, does the hospital have CONFORMED copies?
Unauthorized disposition of someone else's property is theft.
To prevent any further disposition of your property, I'd see either the local PD or contact the county to see how to get a restraining order (PPO) issued against your cousin. You'd have to have the Sheriff's Dept. or PD serve it; you can't serve it yourself.
Contact the police department about the apparent theft of your mother's property, and also ask about an injunction to prevent any further disposition of your mother's property. (You'd probably have to have separate PPOs for your property and your mother's property, but there would now be a problem if your authority to act under a POA or DPOA has been superceded. That's where law enforcement becomes involved.
First thing Monday, contact your state's Elder Law agency and ask for assistance. They can offer more specific legal advice for your county and state (I noticed that's not in your profile). You may also want to ask about filing a grievance against the attorneys, if you can identify them.
If there was pre-planning between your cousin and the attorneys, that might constitute intent, which might be a misdemeanor or felony, perhaps depending on the value of items taken.
How did you know about this, especially the removal of items from your mother's house? Get as much information as you can for a police report. If you know what moving company was involved, contact them and get as much info as you can.
The justification is that assuming the new DPOA was coerced or done w/o proper legal procedures, there may be fraud charges against all involved. That could vitiate any payments, which would make any payments fraudulent, and the moving company and others involved would look to your cousin and the attorneys for payment if the funds are "clawed" back.
Call her banks and other financial entities and advise them of the situation, and ask that a hold be put on assets.
You've gotten a lot of good advice, especially as to your cousin's role at the hospital and in your mother's life. This raises frightening thoughts.
Dee Anna raises intriguing possibilities about your cousin's role; definitely follow up on this aspect.