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I was administrator of her Brother's estate and he died suddenly in an accident last year. They were the last two family members living in Houston. I live in Dallas and the rest of the family lives in Nashville Arkansas. She has never worked and always had to be cared for. I am already her POA.& administrator of her trust. She is mentally incomplete. I would like to become her guardian because it is so difficult for me to travel to Houston and not see my family in Arkansas, when we could all be there. She refuses to move. I know it will take the court awarding me guardianship. She is disabled and has a mental capacity of about a 7 -9 year old. The attorney that helped with the estate and trust, said I would need another attorney.

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you might spend a lot of money for nothing . a judge doesnt take guardianship lightly and will require to see her in person maybe more than once . if she can so much as blink her eyes in acknowlegement , the judge will probably be hesitant to turn her affairs over to someone else and in fact might appoint a professional to the task .
i could be wrong but i could be right too . there is huge potential for fraud and abuse and all the judge is going to care about is the best protection for the elder with minimal expense to the courts .
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I'm really not sure how becoming a guardian would avoid the distance issue; in fact, as her guardian I would think you'd more likely need to be closer to her. So, if you're her guardian you would move her to Arkansas with you? Is that the primary reason for wanting guardianship?

Who's caring for your cousin now? Where is she living?

Is there a Special Needs Trust on her behalf, and was her brother the Trustee? Was there a Successor Trustee? Someone must have been caring for her - what is that person's perspective on your desire to acquire guardianship? Are her parents deceased?

As importantly, does she have the funds to pay for a guardianship proceeding as well as the guardianship's duties, or would you be paying these from your own funds?

I'm also confused about her determination level. You wrote that she has the capacity of a 7 - 9 year old, yet she has made the decision not to move.

For someone with compromised mental capacity, a forced move could be very traumatic for her, especially after losing her brother so recently.
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Oh, sorry, I see that there is a trust. Is this for your cousin? If so, then you'll need to consider who the Trustee is (or was, if it was her brother), and how you plan to interact with the Trustee who may be responsible for her funds.
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I agree with captain. If she is happy where she is and well cared for, no judge is going to go against that. He is going to keep her in his jurisdiction and leave it at that.
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I am the trustee and she is continually going to the hospital for attention. The move would put her in the same home as another family member her aunt and her cousin visits every single day. She is in an assisted living and is not being taken care of. She won't take baths, she eats at least 6 meals a day and has gained at least 50 lbs. and has diabetes. She needs to be in a full care home. I've already talked in great detail to the elder care attorney who handled her brothers estate, which I am the administrator and she also handled setting up the trust but she cannot do the guardianship because of conflict of interest. She has met with Blue bird many times and is encouraging me to do this because she thinks Blue bird is killing herself and has withdrawn in her room and only comes out for meals. I could visit much more often and save my marriage in the mean time. She tells the staff she is having chest pains to go to the hospital so she gets attention at least once a month. They run tests, she spends the night and they find nothing.
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I need an attorney not your suggestions.
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Well, I'm really confused. If you didn't want suggestions but only wanted an attorney, what was the purpose of your post here? This is a forum; people answer questions and make suggestions. No one is going to recommend a specific attorney; it's up to an individual to find one that suits him or her.

If you're looking for assistance in finding an appropriate attorney, that's different, but the choice is still up to you, and you have to do the leg work.

Sorry if you were offended by my suggestions or those of others.
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BTW, it does sound as if your cousin is very lonely and probably could benefit from being in the same home as the other family member.

I hope you find a way to make this work out for you and your cousin.
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