Legal Question in Elder Law in California

The Los Angeles Public Guardian gained control of a Senior Citizen's assets in August of this year but the Power of Attorney over the senior citizen's care is still with the woman who has taken care of the elderly for a couple of years. The Public Guardian's office forced the Power of Attorney to get rid of the caregiver who has been caring for the elderly woman for a year. The elderly woman does have a few health issues but the entire year of 2010, she ate well, was able to communicate, was continent, and in good spirits. The Public Guardian sent in a new caregiver on 12/18 hired through a service. This caregiver changed the medication schedule ultimately causing the elderly woman to become very ill within two days, which caused the elderly woman to have a stroke. The new caregiver did nothing after the elderly woman had a stroke. The woman who holds the Power of Attorney came by to check on the elderly woman and discovered that the elderly woman was unresponsive and yellow in color so she called 911. After the elderly woman was taken to emergency, the Power of Attorney asked to see the �care log,� which was supposed to be written in each time anything was done. The new caregiver, who was hired through a service chosen by the Public Guardian, claimed that she did not know she was supposed to keep a �care log.� The Public Guardian now claims that they did not choose the new caregiver and claims that the Power of Attorney's attorney chose the new caregiver. The Power of Attorney�s attorney claims that the Public Guardian�s office is not being truthful about the choosing of the new caregiver. The 'finger pointing' is ongoing. The elderly woman was taken to the hospital a where she remains in critical condition and is fed through a feeding tube. Just recently, the Public Guardian is in the process of getting a couple doctors to fill out paperwork in the efforts to gain full custody of the elderly woman's medical decisions. The motivation behind this action is believed to be that the Public Guardian will decide to remove the elderly woman�s feeding tube. The Power of Attorney has tried to find an attorney to block this action but every attorney contacted either declines assistance or is out of town for the holidays. After receiving thousands of dollars from the Power of Attorney, the Power of Attorney�s current attorney will no longer fight for her client. It seems that this case has become too hard for the current attorney�s efforts. This entire event is such a miscarriage of justice. This elderly woman is being treated as a thing and not a human being. The Power of Attorney needs help and needs it fast so the Los Angeles Public Guardian�s office will not be able to kill this elderly woman. How can The Public Guardian's office be stopped from being able to cause this elderly woman's death?


Asked on 12/28/10, 8:17 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Terry A. Nelson Nelson & Lawless

Any such claims and contentions would have to be brought in court pleadings in motions to remove and replace the conservator/guardian, and to recover any misused assets and money. Someone will have to step up the the plate and pay attorney fees to get that done.

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Answered on 1/03/11, 6:30 pm


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