What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? New York.
I am the eldest of three granddaughters.
Our grandmother is 85 years old, very frail, and has dementia. She was tested in August of this year and deemed "incapacitated." In Feb., she knew she was going downhill mentally, so she had her Will, POA, and HCP drawn up. She put me in charge because she knows I'm anal and responsible. I proceeded to set up all of her bills online, made up an Excel chart for payment info., etc, and made close contact with her doctor. I also registered her for as many social service programs as I could, including Medicaid (which just went through last month).
My younger sister moved into my grandmother's home and has systematically brainwashed and isolated her, locked my other sister and myself out of the home, has her friend, an unlicensed CNA practically living in the house, unchecked, giving meds and insulin. She is being paid $8.00/hr. with my grandmother's money. She's already switched over the POA twice (once I had it revoked). My sister has a gambling problem and has already spent thousands of my grandmother's cash that she had in the house (but I can't prove this. The money's just gone). She changed her doctor from one who was reliable to some uncaring HIP doctor who over-medicates her. My nana is on Zoloft and Ambien to keep her drugged.
Basically, even though my nana stipulates in her Will that she wants her house to go to all three of us, my younger sister wants it all for herself and has already declared it "her home." In fact, very early on, she signed my grandmother's name on a Sears Home Improvement loan for $10,000 and had the kitchen cabinets replaced against everyone's will.
I already own two homes and my other sister is moving soon to another city, but this does not give her the right to make claims, especially when nana's still alive. When I explained to her that she is welcome to the house when the time comes, she just has to buy us both out, she became enraged. She has bad credit, has a warrant out for her arrest for writing bad checks in Las Vegas, her wages are garnished, and she is generally fiscally irresponsible, so she feels hopeless. I gave her info. on how to clean up her credit, etc., she doesn't want to hear it. Instead, she wants to wreak havoc and fragment our family because of her irrational greed. Besides, the house is already in trust for all three of us, but she refuses to understand this very important legal fact.
The last straw for me was on Aug. 28th when I came by to visit nana, she was locked in the house, alone, slumped over in her chair (I could see her from the window). I begged her elderly roommate to let me in (he's been bullyed by my sister into not letting me in unless supervised), and immediately called an ambulance. My nan's ankles were swollen twice their size (she has CHF and diabetes) and she had shallow breathing.
Two weeks previously, my sister took nana to a lawyer to give her POA and HCP. Ironically though, while she was hospitalized, she was tested and declared incapacitated. Yet when I disputed the HCP issued only two weeks previously, the hospital social workers ignored me, treated me like a criminal, and said that they had to honor the questionable HCP. I was angry and confused. How could they on the one hand say she was incapacitated, but on the other, honor a HCP issued only two weeks previously? She didn't become incapacitated overnight. I managed to talk to the attending physician and he indicated that she would benefit from sub-acute care. My sister said, "NO she's coming home!" Even my nana said that she wasn't ready to go home, she still felt sick. I was so desperate that I faxed the doctor on the ethics committee a HCP revocation that was indeed prepared by my nana's lawyer, but not signed by him. It wasn't legal (I know, it was stupid, and now she has ammo against me), but I was fearful for nan's safety and thought I'd try. Well, they didn't buy it and she was discharged to my sister's care only to be re-admitted with complications three days later.
The next week, my sister filed a temporary restraining order against me on behalf of herself and my grandmother. She claimed I stole my grandmother's pocketbook when I took her to the hospital and that I basically kidnapped her and took her to the hospital against her will. It was thrown out. My nana never even knew about the court proceedings, she was never told by my sister who filed in her name via the POA.
I was sick of the accusations and lies, and suspicious of my sister's activities, so I filed a petitition for guardianship. I didn't feel right when I got nana to sign the HCP and POA revocations, and I knew that this POA game could go on indefinitely. It was wrong. Guardianship was my last resort.
The court evaluator did all of his interviews, I showed him all of my documentation that proved I was taking care of everything very effectively until my sister implemented her own agenda. Even though my other sister was closer to the younger sister, she backed me up and said that she was unhappy with the way things were and feared for nana. She said that she trusted me more. He also spoke with my grandmother and saw that she had short-term memory loss and was easily persuaded.
The tenants also distrust my sister and said that she disrupted their quiet tenancy (they'd lived in the house for upwards of 20 years).
The guardianship hearing was yesterday and the court evaluator presented his report to my lawyer and to my sister's. She was enraged when he recommended that I be named guardian and she move out of the house. She called me the devil. When they called for the case, her lawyer said that she wanted an adjournment because she felt that she could not properly represent my sister because she is the one who signed the power of attorney and actually, the same could be said of my lawyer who signed the POA for me back in February. I was fine with this (my lawyer told me it was a possibility), and my lawyer indicated to the judge that everyone was here, why not proceed? I could testify without a lawyer. Also, she said that my grandmother had another mental test done and that she was not incapacitated. I then heard the judge say, "well, is there a POA?" and the lawyer said "yes"...but I was thinking..."YIKES! That's the reason we are here, because my sister is ABUSING her POA and is unfit to hold it!"
Well, the judge granted the adjournment and now we won't be having the hearing until Dec. 9.
My questions are:
How much weight does the court evaluator's report hold in the eyes of the judge?
I will probably be very nervous testifying, but I will tell the truth. Will my fumbling testimony have an adverse affect on the evaluator's report?
Should I be concerned about not having an attorney? Should I get another attorney?
What can my sister and her lawyer accomplish by this delay? It's only hurting our grandmother. Why didn't she file for this adjournment earlier? They knew for two weeks that we were coming to court. Was this decision based solely on the court evaluator's report? What can they do in the interim?
Should I be aware of any tricks here?
Thanks for your advice!
I am the eldest of three granddaughters.
Our grandmother is 85 years old, very frail, and has dementia. She was tested in August of this year and deemed "incapacitated." In Feb., she knew she was going downhill mentally, so she had her Will, POA, and HCP drawn up. She put me in charge because she knows I'm anal and responsible. I proceeded to set up all of her bills online, made up an Excel chart for payment info., etc, and made close contact with her doctor. I also registered her for as many social service programs as I could, including Medicaid (which just went through last month).
My younger sister moved into my grandmother's home and has systematically brainwashed and isolated her, locked my other sister and myself out of the home, has her friend, an unlicensed CNA practically living in the house, unchecked, giving meds and insulin. She is being paid $8.00/hr. with my grandmother's money. She's already switched over the POA twice (once I had it revoked). My sister has a gambling problem and has already spent thousands of my grandmother's cash that she had in the house (but I can't prove this. The money's just gone). She changed her doctor from one who was reliable to some uncaring HIP doctor who over-medicates her. My nana is on Zoloft and Ambien to keep her drugged.
Basically, even though my nana stipulates in her Will that she wants her house to go to all three of us, my younger sister wants it all for herself and has already declared it "her home." In fact, very early on, she signed my grandmother's name on a Sears Home Improvement loan for $10,000 and had the kitchen cabinets replaced against everyone's will.
I already own two homes and my other sister is moving soon to another city, but this does not give her the right to make claims, especially when nana's still alive. When I explained to her that she is welcome to the house when the time comes, she just has to buy us both out, she became enraged. She has bad credit, has a warrant out for her arrest for writing bad checks in Las Vegas, her wages are garnished, and she is generally fiscally irresponsible, so she feels hopeless. I gave her info. on how to clean up her credit, etc., she doesn't want to hear it. Instead, she wants to wreak havoc and fragment our family because of her irrational greed. Besides, the house is already in trust for all three of us, but she refuses to understand this very important legal fact.
The last straw for me was on Aug. 28th when I came by to visit nana, she was locked in the house, alone, slumped over in her chair (I could see her from the window). I begged her elderly roommate to let me in (he's been bullyed by my sister into not letting me in unless supervised), and immediately called an ambulance. My nan's ankles were swollen twice their size (she has CHF and diabetes) and she had shallow breathing.
Two weeks previously, my sister took nana to a lawyer to give her POA and HCP. Ironically though, while she was hospitalized, she was tested and declared incapacitated. Yet when I disputed the HCP issued only two weeks previously, the hospital social workers ignored me, treated me like a criminal, and said that they had to honor the questionable HCP. I was angry and confused. How could they on the one hand say she was incapacitated, but on the other, honor a HCP issued only two weeks previously? She didn't become incapacitated overnight. I managed to talk to the attending physician and he indicated that she would benefit from sub-acute care. My sister said, "NO she's coming home!" Even my nana said that she wasn't ready to go home, she still felt sick. I was so desperate that I faxed the doctor on the ethics committee a HCP revocation that was indeed prepared by my nana's lawyer, but not signed by him. It wasn't legal (I know, it was stupid, and now she has ammo against me), but I was fearful for nan's safety and thought I'd try. Well, they didn't buy it and she was discharged to my sister's care only to be re-admitted with complications three days later.
The next week, my sister filed a temporary restraining order against me on behalf of herself and my grandmother. She claimed I stole my grandmother's pocketbook when I took her to the hospital and that I basically kidnapped her and took her to the hospital against her will. It was thrown out. My nana never even knew about the court proceedings, she was never told by my sister who filed in her name via the POA.
I was sick of the accusations and lies, and suspicious of my sister's activities, so I filed a petitition for guardianship. I didn't feel right when I got nana to sign the HCP and POA revocations, and I knew that this POA game could go on indefinitely. It was wrong. Guardianship was my last resort.
The court evaluator did all of his interviews, I showed him all of my documentation that proved I was taking care of everything very effectively until my sister implemented her own agenda. Even though my other sister was closer to the younger sister, she backed me up and said that she was unhappy with the way things were and feared for nana. She said that she trusted me more. He also spoke with my grandmother and saw that she had short-term memory loss and was easily persuaded.
The tenants also distrust my sister and said that she disrupted their quiet tenancy (they'd lived in the house for upwards of 20 years).
The guardianship hearing was yesterday and the court evaluator presented his report to my lawyer and to my sister's. She was enraged when he recommended that I be named guardian and she move out of the house. She called me the devil. When they called for the case, her lawyer said that she wanted an adjournment because she felt that she could not properly represent my sister because she is the one who signed the power of attorney and actually, the same could be said of my lawyer who signed the POA for me back in February. I was fine with this (my lawyer told me it was a possibility), and my lawyer indicated to the judge that everyone was here, why not proceed? I could testify without a lawyer. Also, she said that my grandmother had another mental test done and that she was not incapacitated. I then heard the judge say, "well, is there a POA?" and the lawyer said "yes"...but I was thinking..."YIKES! That's the reason we are here, because my sister is ABUSING her POA and is unfit to hold it!"
Well, the judge granted the adjournment and now we won't be having the hearing until Dec. 9.
My questions are:
How much weight does the court evaluator's report hold in the eyes of the judge?
I will probably be very nervous testifying, but I will tell the truth. Will my fumbling testimony have an adverse affect on the evaluator's report?
Should I be concerned about not having an attorney? Should I get another attorney?
What can my sister and her lawyer accomplish by this delay? It's only hurting our grandmother. Why didn't she file for this adjournment earlier? They knew for two weeks that we were coming to court. Was this decision based solely on the court evaluator's report? What can they do in the interim?
Should I be aware of any tricks here?
Thanks for your advice!
