Legal Question in Elder Law in California

My mother's care

In'99 my father died,my mother needs full time care(Parkinson's).My half-brother moves in to my mother's house without her asking him to do so.In 2000 he was put into rehab for drug/alcohol abuse. A week ago, a neighbor contacted us to say there is a problem and we suspect him of abuse & neglect of our mother.I have POA(financial and medical)& my name is on the deed to the house with my mother. He has lived there almost 5 years, with no legal paperwork or agreement between he and my mother. My mother suspects him of stealing her money and she is terrified of him. He is verbally abusive, has isolated her & tells her that no one else loves her or cares for her except him.I have reported to APS. Now I am completely lost in knowing how to remove him legally and safely from the home. He is unpredicatble with a bad temper. I have tried to make contact since March, and have only gotten through to my mother last week. He has not called me, but has contacted the notary of their community who worked for us to make my mother's will, he wanted to know what the will contained and wanted a copy. He is unemployed and doesn't have a place to go. We suspect that he has a girlfriend in the same location that he used to by drugs from.

Help!


Asked on 7/13/04, 6:12 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys

Scott Linden Scott H. Linden, Esq.

Re: My mother's care

First you need to get your mother safely out of that situation, can she stay with you or a friend until everything is completed? Maybe at a senior home?

You may want to consider a constructive trust to protect her, her assets, as well as you from taxes when she passes away. It might be wise because of her condition, however, we can discuss that at a later time.

You are going to have to actually evict your brother and anyone else residing in the home. This is a standard process, but it must be followed to get him out legally.

Of course if your mother were not living there then there would be not really be a need for water or power, but again, that is also a matter best discussed at a later time.

Since you are in Berkeley, you may prefer a local attorney, however, we would be happy to assist you in the process as well. Please feel free to contact me at 626-578-0708 or visit our firm online at www.No-Probate.com.

Good luck and please get your mother out of there.

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Answered on 7/13/04, 6:33 pm
Chris Johnson Christopher B. Johnson, Attorney at Law

Re: My mother's care

You'll probably have to use the power of attorney to evict him (and anyone else living there) from the house. He'll of course want to pressure your mother not to do this, so it's best if she's not living there during the eviction process and away from him.

He'll want to fight the eviction, so I'd recommend finding a local firm experienced in landlord/tenant law to handle the eviction--if they're experienced, they can probably do it faster and cheaper than a firm that doesn't handle evictions on a day-to-day basis.

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Answered on 7/13/04, 7:19 pm


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