“Would you two cut it out?!” “Why can’t you get along with your brother?” “Stop picking on your sister.” These are common parental refrains with young children, but what happens if adult children can’t get along when it comes to assisting with or making decisions related to the physical or financial wellbeing of an elderly parent? In that case, there is often a race to the court house, which can lead to a nasty court battle over who should become guardian over a parent, and thereby take control the purse strings.
When a Child can become a Parent’s Guardian
One of the most difficult things for a client to accept is that he can only become guardian over an aging parent if that parent is legally incompetent. Just the fact that a parent is making decisions that a child thinks are poor decisions may not be enough if the parent understands the consequences of his actions and chooses to make those bad decisions anyway.
If a parent is competent, the fact that the parent is favoring one child over another is likely not actionable — as unfair, infuriating, and hurtful as it may seem. The times when it could become actionable include if the other sibling is stealing from the parent, is unduly influencing the parent, or is breaching the fiduciary duty he owes the parent under a power of attorney. If you suspect that a sibling, caregiver or other family member is taking advantage of someone you love, a guardianship attorney can help you evaluate the rights and options you might have.
2 Comments
Jan 17, 2023, 11:16:53 AM
Olivia Steinberg - Hi Suzi,
Thank you for providing us with feedback on the font size. You can enlarge the font and utilize a host of accessibility features by clicking on the "circular blue stick figure" icon on the lower left portion of your screen.
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Jan 14, 2023, 5:27:14 AM
Suzi Hale - Hello doing research to see if anything can do my sibling has taken momand I to court filed for emergency guardianship.. need direction. Can't read the article font is to small. Thank you