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WarriorPrincess Asked July 2018

What do we do? Mom didn't plan for assisted living and we are not in position to be able to help.

My mom is getting to the point she can not take care of herself, eat, take her meds, she requires 24 hour care. She has medicare and about 50K in her saving account. We are looking into Medi-Cal and we have done everything we can. When my mom was in a vindictive mood she told me she wanted to be a Ward of the state. Can someone please share with me what that means? Is that an avenue one would take? We want what is best for her. We have tried 24 hour care but that got very expensive and they really couldn't control her. We took her in but she has gotten progressively work with Dementia or Acute Psychotic Episodes. We have been in and out of hospitals--2 different psychiatrists, medical doctors. Her health care want to send someone 1 for 2 hours a day. Help please......Since she can't eat and has lost lots of weight....etc we are afraid people will say we are neglecting her. help!

igloo572 Jul 2018
Ward of the state is a legal action usually done in probate court in which a state appointed guardian (not family, not their DPOA) is named to oversee & make decisions for your mom’s care and finances. Ward can be temporary or permanent & will have a court hearing before a judge.

For elders it tends to happen due to 2 things:
- APS has done an investigation of the living situation & determined they cannot live where they are due to health and safety issues and if no family to move them or elder gets all “not gonna”, then APS petitions the court for a ward status to be placed with court appointed guardian
- elder is in a NH and bills are not getting paid and family not responding to “30 Day Notice(s)” sent to dpoa or family. NH contacts APS and then APS petitions the court as above.
Both can be done by emergency placement... like APS files request and it’s signed off within hours, usually as a temporary ward status which shifts to permanent if no family file to be guardian. It gets reviewed annually by the court.
I’d bet that she said this to you as a “I don’t need you” type of dramarama, ugly statement without understanding that a ward looses control over decisions.
WarriorPrincess Aug 2018
Thank you soooo much.  I really appreciate you taking the time to share your knowledge.  THis is such a challenging time for all.
love
peace
blessings
Daughterof1930 Jul 2018
Doesn’t sound like assisted living is a possibility. Time to look for nursing home placement. Use her money to pay for it, then when she’s out of money Medicaid will take over. In a nursing home she can receive meds to help regulate her moods and the staff can make sure she takes them
WarriorPrincess Aug 2018
Yes, that's what I was thinking.  We are working on applying for Medicaid.  This is a very long process.  THank you again so much.

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HolidayEnd Jul 2018
Back in the day, being a ‘ward of the state’ meant being put in the state mental hospital. We still have one in my state but the thought of my mother in this asylum is bone chilling. The patients aren’t abused but neither are they pampered, like in a private facility. If she meant she’ll just go to the ‘asylum’ she’s just being dramatic. No one wants to be sent there!!

JoAnn29 Jul 2018
A nursing home paying privately till her money is used up filing for Medicaid a few months before its gone. Being a Ward of the State, probably means to her Medicaid since its state money.

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