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Cathy, so the situation is that your mother lives with you, has been declared incompetent through testing or some medical determination, and you want to find a placement in memory care but your mother hasn't granted you any legal authority to do so?

Do you have a facility in mind, and if so, have you discussed the situation with someone in admissions or social work?

I think if your mother doesn't want to leave your home, you likely would have to get guardianship (and conservatorship), but I would call the source listed below to be sure, or to find out if there's another way of handling the situation.

I just did a quick search; there's a Michigan Dementia Coalition, but there's also a Michigan Alzheimer's site with helpful information. (https://www.alzheimers.net/resources/michigan/). The Alzheimer's site has information on which cities have dementia facilities.

The Michigan State site is: www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/0,5885,7-339-71550_2955_29193---,00.html (the http://www will probably be deleted by forum filters, so just add it to the rest of the URL to reach the site).

If you happen to be in Oakland County, PM me and I'll share with you some information on a particularly good facility.
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CathyJones58, I'm not familiar with specific Michigan's laws, but in general, if someone has legitimate financial and health care DPOA of an incompetent person, then the agent (i.e. you) have all the authority you need to move the the incompetent person to a safer environment. So, you probably won't need guardianship, unless your mom has a spouse or you have siblings who might disagree with your decision -- in either of those cases things can quickly get more complicated and sometimes guardianship is the only way to ensure your mom will get the best care available. It would be good, as GardenArtist suggested, to call Elder Law of Michigan just to make sure there are no legal pitfalls that will ambush you.

In any event, legal considerations will probably prove to be easier than the emotional turmoil of moving your mom against her will. For years my now 96 -year-old dad didn't want to move out of his home, but, luckily, by the time his dementia had progressed to the point that he could no longer live in his home and my wife and I moved him from another state into our home, he quickly forgot his prior home where he'd lived for 40 years. And immediately after I moved him into a memory care facility, he didn't remember living with us for 3.5 years. (He still asks me to take him home almost every day, but all he remembers is his childhood home where he thinks his mom and dad are.) So, my dad's two moves went well for him. I hope your mom is able to adapt as well as he did.
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She does not want to move, but she has been deemed incompetent. We live in Michigan and will be keeping her in Michigan.
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Where is it you want to move a parent? To IL, AL, or somewhere else? What is the parent's position - for or against the move? I'm trying to determine whether this can just be done if the parent agrees or if the move would be unacceptable to the parent.

You can also call the Elder Law of Michigan Agency. It will offer some limited free advice from attorneys in related fields. Sometimes it takes a few days to locate an attorney with a practice area that deals with a particular question.
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Is parent competent? If so, nothing at all you can do to move them. If incompetent, you need concurrence of doctor for placement. Our folks have the right to make their own bad decisions. Read the POA, what rights does it give you?
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