Moving from 1 state to another will be a daunting task. It can be done but just how difficult depends on the situation. Guardianship is a court supervised legal process, so you will need an atty. & probably 1 in CA and 1 in VT experienced in guardianships. It will not be inexpensive but once you are appointed the $ you fronted can be reinbursed from moms resources if she has them. Otherwise it's all your costs.
I'd suggest you get a pot of coffee going and read through the various posts in the POA & guardianship section of AC to get insight on guardianship and issues in getting it done. It is not simply filling out a application and then appointed but is a detailed legal process before CA judge who has a responsibility to make sure a resident of their state is best served.
Before I'd start on this, I'd look at what the current situation is for mom- - is there a DPOA who is a legal resident of CA & will they back you moving mom. If you & a DPOA are at odds on the move, it will be most difficult. - is mom still competent & cognitive to be able to make her own decisions so that instead of guardianship you become her DPOA and then you & mom spend the next couple of mos doing things to get mom to be a legal resident of VT. Like mom opens a bank account with a banking group that also is in VT & CA. - is moms condition such that she is unable to participate in any of this. If so, to me, doing this will become your new full time job going back & forth from VT to CA with paperwork details, medical reports & court hearings. Unless you have a huge puddle of $$ to have the attys in CA & VT oversee & coordinate all this. Maybe 15k- 20k for each coast would be my guess. - is there currently an issue with the facility. If so, You need to move fast on this before the facility asks for an emergency ward of the state placement for mom. - does mom have any real property in CA - is mom currently private pay for care or is she on mediCal. If she is on MediCal (CA version of Medicaid), realize it will stop once she moves out of state. She will have to become eligible for VT Medicaid. Which could mean months till that happens & she's private pay till then. Private pay will make all this easier. - is mom totally current on her bill - what is moms care plan & do you have a facility in VT that can provide it. NH have regularly scheduled care plan meetings. For my mom, it was every 90 days and scheduled in advance & could be done via conf call or Skype (I lived in LA but DPOA for my mom in TX). If you have not been in on these, it will not look good for your becoming guardian. NH will likely submit a report to the court regarding moms situation. If you have not been active as a family member it will be in the report. - also pause to think if there is anything in your or anyone in your households background that could be a problem. Like any felony, questionable credit history, or other dramarama. CA judge can place mom as resident of CA to instead become a ward of the state of CA rather than appoint someone out of state with fuzzy background. A good atty can smooth this out usually unless it's egregious.
I'd suggest you get a pot of coffee going and read through the various posts in the POA & guardianship section of AC to get insight on guardianship and issues in getting it done. It is not simply filling out a application and then appointed but is a detailed legal process before CA judge who has a responsibility to make sure a resident of their state is best served.
Before I'd start on this, I'd look at what the current situation is for mom-
- is there a DPOA who is a legal resident of CA & will they back you moving mom. If you & a DPOA are at odds on the move, it will be most difficult.
- is mom still competent & cognitive to be able to make her own decisions so that instead of guardianship you become her DPOA and then you & mom spend the next couple of mos doing things to get mom to be a legal resident of VT. Like mom opens a bank account with a banking group that also is in VT & CA.
- is moms condition such that she is unable to participate in any of this. If so, to me, doing this will become your new full time job going back & forth from VT to CA with paperwork details, medical reports & court hearings. Unless you have a huge puddle of $$ to have the attys in CA & VT oversee & coordinate all this. Maybe 15k- 20k for each coast would be my guess.
- is there currently an issue with the facility. If so, You need to move fast on this before the facility asks for an emergency ward of the state placement for mom.
- does mom have any real property in CA
- is mom currently private pay for care or is she on mediCal. If she is on MediCal (CA version of Medicaid), realize it will stop once she moves out of state. She will have to become eligible for VT Medicaid. Which could mean months till that happens & she's private pay till then. Private pay will make all this easier.
- is mom totally current on her bill
- what is moms care plan & do you have a facility in VT that can provide it. NH have regularly scheduled care plan meetings. For my mom, it was every 90 days and scheduled in advance & could be done via conf call or Skype (I lived in LA but DPOA for my mom in TX). If you have not been in on these, it will not look good for your becoming guardian. NH will likely submit a report to the court regarding moms situation. If you have not been active as a family member it will be in the report.
- also pause to think if there is anything in your or anyone in your households background that could be a problem. Like any felony, questionable credit history, or other dramarama. CA judge can place mom as resident of CA to instead become a ward of the state of CA rather than appoint someone out of state with fuzzy background. A good atty can smooth this out usually unless it's egregious.
It will not be simple no matter what.