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I have recently petitioned the court for guardianship for my mom. There is no one else to take care of her here. She does have some resources but they have to last. Three doctors wrote that she is incompetent but the court appointed her a lawyer to represent her interests. This lawyer was extremely aggressive and bullying toward her, trying to get her to change her will and saying horrible things about me. Neutral parties have already made an investigation and came to the conclusion that she is well cared for and there is no financial malfeasance whatsoever. How can I stop this lawyer before he gets all of my mother's money and she is truly destitute. They said she has to fire the lawyer that she never hired but she has dementia and is always confused and not really aware of what this lawyer is telling her.

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Really poor people become a ward of the state.
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So what do really poor people do?
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No, I just went through the Guardianship process. The court evaluator is paid for by Mom, it was about $2K. Our lawyer cost us $2300 to do the Petition. At the first hearing, the "Show Cause", it was all said and done, because the court evaluator said she needed a Guardian.
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a question I have, if the court appoints a lawyer, doesn't that mean that lawyer is paid by the courts, or they work pro bono? Isn't that what courts do every day? For poor people? I'm confused on that point.
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greenie, call YOUR lawyer and he will reflect your concerns to the judge. Again, I caution you, do not be confrontational with this guy, because it will only result in your removal as a guardian.
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the courts are generally overworked. its probably easier to appoint a legal guardian than it would ever be to investigate and monitor the care and finances of the elder. i would be shocked and upset in your position too but if you can see it as the judges most foolproof option then you might not take it so personal. its no fun to be in that hotseat, i know from experience. any carer looks like a greedy parasite if viewed from a different angle. in my case im a pretty rough looking character and a male, and a one time pill felon, and was viewed with much scepticism the whole way. at moms death i was informed by our attorney that a felon cannot be a personal representative so by default he was the PR, yet he permitted me to oversee all financial and property division matters under his scrutiny. by this point mom was gone and i saw the whole caring gig as a success and was actually relieved that the attorney was official PR. he only charged 2500.00 for his PR services to include legally signing possession of the homestead over to my oldest sis. it was horribly scary the whole way but the courts just will not d**k around where the elders interests are at stake. please trust the judge, noone is trying to undermine you, only protecting the helpless elder.
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Removal from what? Yes, my mom was quite upset and I was shocked at the things he said, very hostile and accusatory toward us when we have already been investigated and all has been found more than satisfactory. He did not ask, he told her she was being abused and told her lies that could easily be disproven. My mother is in a fragile emotional state and we are close so we didn't expect this. He is drumming up all kinds of things he says my mother wants when she has no memory of what he even said to her. Why is there the presumption of guilt when one asks for guardianship? I am trying to protect her from unscrupulous relatives, not exploit her and I have opened my records, home, and books in good faith.
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This lawyer cannot be fired by anyone but the judge who appointed him. You say he was bullying, did you actually see this? He is certainly going to ask about abuse from a potential guardian. He is certainly ask about changing the Will. He is certainly not going to get all her money, he is a court appointee, he represents her only for the duration of the guardianship proceedings and would have no other contact. You MUST direct your concerns to YOUR lawyer as any attempt to interfere with an officer of the court, and that is what he is, will result in your immediate removal.
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if you google up court ordered guardianship and takeover of an elder/ financial exploitation by the courts you will find precious few legitimate claims being made in the usa. more extensive reading will take you to where the ultimate determining factor in the courts is the self determination of the elder involved, as it should be, imo. as far as an attorney charging 200 bucks an hour? ive known attorneys who lived pretty damn meager lifestyles considering theyd been in the law business for nearly a lifetime and had repaid a huge monetary investment in their education.
but. i do understand where your coming from and its a scary place to be for you and the elder. if you both share the same genetic paranoid personality traits it can cause many a sleepless night. if anybody bullies you take it up with the family doc. hes more powerful than the judge in this s**t because the law has blocked anyone from questioning his training and authority. our doc told hospice to present themselves like guests in our home because their antics were causing us unnecessary tension.
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