How Can a West Palm Beach Guardianship Help You to Protect an Elderly Loved One?
What is an adult guardianship? When should I consider hiring a West Palm Beach guardianship attorney? What can I do if I feel my elderly mom is being taken advantage of by a caretaker? How can I make sure that my elderly dad, who has Alzheimer’s disease, is not financially exploited?
Alzheimer’s Disease, Dementia, and Exploitation of a Vulnerable Adult
As guardianship litigation lawyers, we at Pankauski Lazarus frequently encounter situations where elderly adults are being taken advantage of by those trusted to care for them. It seems that elderly adults with Alzheimer’s disease and/or dementia are targeted most frequently because these particular diseases, unfortunately, can make them vulnerable.
Greedy caretakers, neighbors, or friends, who know of a person’s vulnerability, may try to financially exploit them. The idea of having a caretaker or neighbor exploit your vulnerable family member can be sickening. However, there are certain things that can be done to try to prevent this from occurring.
Florida Adult Guardianships
You may want to consider filing for guardianship over mom and dad if they are no longer able to care for themselves. The guardianship process in Florida is taken very seriously by West Palm Beach courts because guardianship proceedings involve rights being taken away if the alleged incapacitated person is deemed incapacitated.
The proceedings to determine incapacity are generally controlled by Florida Statute 744.331, and the statute must be strictly followed. To learn more about the procedures to determine incapacity in a hearing, you should read Florida Statute 744.331 in its entirety. You may also want to consider interviewing an experienced Florida guardianship lawyer. A guardianship lawyer can help you show the court that a guardianship is needed. In addition, a guardianship attorney can petition for you to serve as guardian, if you wish to. If you personally decide to serve as guardian, you will know that your loved one is in good hands.
Soldatich v. Jones
A recent Fourth DCA opinion, Soldatich v. Jones, is a good example of litigation involving family members who believe that their elderly relative is being taken advantage of. Here, a petition for injunction against exploitation of a vulnerable adult was filed against the relative’s caretaker.
If you believe that an elderly or vulnerable family member is being taken advantage of by his or her caretaker, you definitely want to read Florida Statute 825.1035. This statute explains how to seek an injunction to stop a caretaker or “friend” from stealing money or taking advantage of a vulnerable adult.
If you would like to interview a West Palm Beach guardianship attorney, free of charge, call (561)514-0900 ext.101.