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My family has just recently found out that my aunt is socially and financially abusing my grandfather. She has been moving him around every few months; whenever the bills come due, she moves him to a new place. She has spent his money on expensive makeup, a trip to Greece, and other things that are definitely not for my grandfather's benefit. She has also been socially abusing him, isolating him from other members of the family and demanding that the social workers at the home he is in do not let my other aunt and cousins contact him. Most of that side of my family lives in Alberta, Canada, but although I know this is an American organization, I am here because it is so hard to get information on this subject, and I'm loooking for answers all over.


To get down to it, my questions are:


1) Does a POA in any way grant someone the power to restrict social visits for the donor, and is it at all legal what she is doing?


and


2) How does one go about removing power of attorney from an unfit or abusive agent?


Thank you for your time, and I hope to hear any suggestions you may have.

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You may need to contact a lawyer. Maybe he could draw up a letter telling Aunt she needs to make an accounting on how she is handling Dads money. You may have to report her to Adult Protection
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Grandaughter426 Apr 2019
Thank you so much for the advice JoAnn. I will definitely pass this on to my family. They've just been so exhausted with all this going on, and I'm just hoping to crowdsource any ideas that may help them, even a bit, so thank you very much for your input :)
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What is your grandfather's situation? Is he able to understand what is happening? If your aunt is able to move him around, it may be that he has only mild dementia, if that. Do you think that he may still be legally competent? If so, clearly the best option is for him to revoke your aunt's POA and make a new one in favour of someone else in the family (preferably local). It may be best if a group of the local family make an appointment to go together to his facility and speak with the social worker. The aunt with POA must have put up some sort of story to justify 'no contact', and a group of sensible people may overcome that impression. If they can then bring in a lawyer to see him and provide a new POA, that would probably be the cheapest and easiest approach - it leaves your aunt with having to take the initiative to overturn it and produce proof, rather than the other way about.

I'd say try that approach first, and move on to challenging your aunt and her POA if that fails.
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Retain a lawyer immediately if you have concerns that illegal activity could be taking place. Everyday you wait decreases the likelihood of successful financial recovery. In the meantime do not gossip or spread rumors.

If if your aunt was merely designated as a future POA, that means nothing if your grandfather is mentally capable (and thus the appointment has not been exercised).

What is your evidence that she is using Grandpa’s money (and not hers) on the trip to Greece and to purchase makeup? If Grandpa has capacity, and chose to give her gifts that is his business alone.

These are very serious allegations that should not be made lightly. If you circulate these allegations and they are untrue, you could be liable for slander/libel.
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Grandaughter426 Apr 2019
I did not include personal details for exactly this reason. My name is not known, nor is that of my aunt or grandfather. It is only discussed within my family, and there is already an investigation open in regards to her actions, so I am not concerned about slander. The evidence involved is that these charges are appearing on HIS bank statements, and I'm quite positive that he didn't sneak off to Greece or go to Sephora for a contour lesson. I definitely should have included though that my grandfather has early stage Alzheimer's and has already been deemed unfit to make these decisions for himself. It was always discussed between my grandmother and my cousin that should anything happen to him, my cousin would have control of the POA. Unfortunately my grandmother passed away before my grandfather began to decline, and my aunt intervened before he was tested and, not to put it lightly, poisoned his mind against the rest of the family. She had him sign the POA, with him thinking that she was the only one there for him. It is a very touchy situation, but believe me when I say that none of this is taken lightly, and that I am only here to get professional advice on how my family can proceed.
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I think you may be on the wrong forum, you said you are looking for professional advice. This is a caregiver forum, not professionals.
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Grandaughter426 Apr 2019
Not necessarily. Anyone who has dealt with a similar situation is just as helpful :) you're right though, I should have said professional or relatable advice
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You have described so many things "not right". This is elder exploitation / abuse. You need to obtain legal council via a strong elder rights attorney right away!
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