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I live in Arizona and my 70 year old mom is in Chicago. She lives on her own and she was diagnosed with Schizophrenia after being hospitalized over 10 years ago. She was on meds for awhile which helped, but then she got off of them and has been declining ever since. She refuses to go to the doctor or take any meds. I got PoA for health and property last year so I have access to her bank accounts. There was an incident a few months ago where she put down a large down payment on a 30k home renovation (which she cannot afford). I put out that fire and cancelled her checks. Last week she was not answering my phone calls so I checked her accounts and saw she's been spending over $100 per day at Starbucks. Turns out she's basically been spending all day there and eating all of her meals there (she has paranoia around cooking among other things). She's very isolated and just watches tv all day. The only person in Chicago who has been helping me is my dad (her ex-husband). She's also a hoarder and we suspect she may have dementia as well. I have been looking into guardianship but not sure if that's the right move. At this time, we really just need to get her into a group home of some sort where they can monitor her 24/7 because she cannot be on her own anymore. She doesn't check her mail, won't answer most phone calls, and is highly paranoid of her neighbors. She's also refusing to file her pension paperwork and is withholding her Medicare info from me. I am close with one of her sisters who lives in Colorado and she's been helping me as well, but my grandma and my mom's other siblings pretty much all have mental illness as well so they are not in the picture. My mom owns the house she's living in but she does not have much money, she's always been poor. What's my best move here?

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Krober

I just wanted to offer support. There are not a lot of easy solutions for family members with mental health issues.

My uncle with schizophrenia would go to Borders book store every day and hang out.

He did not take meds. It is legal in the US to not take mental health meds.

He lived in a crumbling apartment in a very old barn on Grandma's property.

My Mom and her other brother had to step away from the situation. He would threaten my Mom. He had been in a mental institution for several years after he attempted suicide at University of Chicago. Ever since then
he had a lawyer on speed dial with a small bit of inheritance money.

He eventually passed away from Lou Gehrig's disease. I saw him about 30 days before he passed and he was still making threats against my Mom.

I just wanted to offer support to you in a very challenging situation.
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SnoopyLove Feb 10, 2026
How tragic. The suffering caused by this disease is almost unimaginable.
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If you “have access to her bank accounts”, can you withdraw all the money in her accounts? Then place it in a new bank account, just for her, but which she cannot access. Transfer an ‘allowance’ amount to her account regularly.
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Geaton777 Feb 8, 2026
Margaret, that's not how it works in the US if you don't want to disqualify the Mom for Medicaid. If the Mom has an existing savings account then the bulk of the money can go in there where it is not as easily accessed.
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Take away her access to her funds. Give her some pocket money to spend. If you don't take away her access to her funds, she soon won't have any funds to worry about.
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I'm so sorry you are going through this. With my mom she had to have two IVCs before psych ward hospital staff would listen to my saying she was not a safe discharge. We got her placed in a dementia care facility two years ago and it has been a wonderful experience. She takes her meds as she really doesn't know what they are giving her anymore. She eats three square meals a day, has activities and has made friends. She is still paranoid delusional, but not violent and hasn't tried to escape in over a year. I sold her house and car and put that money towards her care. She also is a hoarder with Schizophrenia. One staff member goes through her side table at least once a week and removes mom's treasures (trash) and tosses them. Usually it's empty medicine cups, used napkins, etc. She is mad, but not violent about it. This week she said one person at the facility had almost cracked her computer password, so I had to change it for her. She instructed me NOT to say it out loud as she thinks she is being recorded and watched. Still, she is so much happier than she was when she was not medicated and living on her own. She plays various games with the other residents, gets her hair and nails done, attends concerts in their dining room and wins Bingo quite a bit. It's been two years since she spent the night in her car watching for people no one else could see. I hope you can get that kind of happy resolution with your mom, but it's a LONG road to get there and you will need support.
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krober20 Feb 7, 2026
Oh wow this sounds so similar to my mom. You’re giving me hope! How did you end up getting her in the dementia care facility? I can’t even get my mom to her primary care doctor for an evaluation let alone any kind of specialist. I tricked her into walking into a psych hospital last year but they wouldn’t take her in and she’s not a threat to herself or others. Extremely frustrating!
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If you read your PoA document, is it durable? Or is there a criteria that activates the authority?

Even with an active PoA you won't be able to physically get her into a facility against her will. Even if you had guardianship it will still be very difficult to do this. Maybe you can get conservatorship (so only managing her finances). If she's paranoid and not on meds... I'm not sure you what can be done except continually reporting her to APS as a vulnerable adult. She will be in and out of the hospital, psych ward, back out, back in. Rinse, repeat.

One solution would be to resign your PoA and allow the courts to assign her a guardian. They have their ways of getting their wards the care they need. I'm so sorry for this distressing situation. Many on this forum have been through it with their relatives. I wish you clarity and wisdom as you consider the options.
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krober20 Feb 7, 2026
The poa is active and i’ve used it to turn off her debit card but i can’t do much else with it. I also can’t get a conservatorship since i’m out of state. I’ve contacted APS a few times now and suffice to say they have not been helpful. How do you go about getting the court to assign a guardian? Thank you for your help!
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