Legal Question in Elder Law in Arizona

I have a parent that has dementia and is being cared for by my sibblings. They are using her money for their personal gain. Her income goes into the same bank account as one of my sibblings and there is no accounting for where the money goes. My mother's home was part of a Living Trust but after her diagnosis her home was place in one of my sibblings names. With the full intention of being left to all her children when she passes. Now that I have voiced my feeling for how things are being handled, I have been thrown out of my mother's home and not allowed to see her. I have been physically attacked, I want my mom to be cared for and I know I have the right to be involved in her care. How do I deal with this situation? Also, how do I stop them from using her money and using any equity in the home before mom passes??


Asked on 12/08/09, 12:19 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Donald Scher Donald T. Scher & Associates, P.C.

You must take immediate action to file a petition in the probate division of the Superior Court to appoint you as permanent guardian and conservator of your mother. This will give you legal authority to take care of her physically, medically and socially, and to protect her income and her assets. You may also make a complaint to the police that your syblings are exploiting your mother financially, which has civil as well as criminal penalties, and they could lose their share of any inheritance to which they may be entitled as well. If the home was titled in the name of the trust, and your mother was diagnosed with dementia, then her signing a deed to one of them would not be valid and can be reversed.

You have to take immediate court action and get court orders to stop them from using your mother's money, or her home or anything else that is damaging to her or her interests.

It is possible to file for temporary guardianship and conservatorship and put a stop to this in a short time period. I do not recommend that you try to do this yourself, you should retain legal counsel at once.

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Answered on 12/13/09, 11:04 am


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