This case is already in EP Probate Court. I have overwhelming evidence, including the original Will, medical documentation, family support, Doctor's reports (DMATs) on my side. I am fighting for my mother's right to remain in my home. She still has simple choices according to her doctor that the court is directly violating.
Your post indicates that you are fortunate to have family members supporting you. Too often, probate court disputes involve family members who disagree over how to care for a parent, aunt or uncle. Thankfully, that doesn't seem to be your problem.
Although your post doesn't specifically explain how your family got into this situation, It sounds like a discharge planner, elder protective services agency, or some other authority has made a determination that your mother can't get the care she needs at home.
Find an attorney who is able to assemble the facts that prove home care is appropriate. Those facts come from a team of people that know the truth. In my office we use a "team sheet" to show our clients that they may already be working with qualified people in the fields of medical and mental health, social services, and financial management. Seeing the names written on the team sheet helps you see how everyone can work together more effectively.
The doctor sounds like a good source for a written report that would certify home care is suitable for your mother. You may need to add a geriatric care manager or geriatric nurse to your team, to show the court that you have a viable plan in place.
You can search for, and become familiar with, the names and qualifications of local elder law attorneys using naela.org and nelf.org. Take your list of attorneys, and ask people you trust which attorney would be effective on your team to bring your mother home.
The attorney needs the ability to take the facts of your mother's case, and apply them to the court rules to your situation. The goal is to make it easy for the judge or magistrate to see that what you are proposing is best for your mother.
- then once you do that in the upper right corner will be a box in which you can click for elder law attorneys in your state.
However it sounds like you need an attorney to handle a guardianship situation rather than elder law issues. If this is already in probate court, then some sort of action has already been taken or filed for guardianship. Did you have an attorney to represent you when this all started and what happened with that attorney?
I have not been a guardian but have been executrix twice and spend more hours in probate court to hear all sorts of drama on guardianship while awaiting the docket for the estates. The probate judges very much run their court as they see fit. They are the smartest & best-looking ones in the room even if they look like Jabba the Hut. They seem to have a lot of discretion as to how they evaluate situations so if you have said anything during your mom's hearings like "the court is directly violating", you, my dear are likely toast on ever getting things your way. Also if there is anything iffy on you & your spouse - like declared bankruptcy, or go through a short-sell or have credit issues or mental health issues or anyone in your household have priors or your kids have juvee issues - you are toast on getting guardianship.
You are in court you need an excellent elder law litigator not a will drafted. Go to the website AVVO to research elder law attorneys in your area. The site include information on what percentage of their practice is litigation. Also contains client and peer ratings. The site provides the opportunity to ask attorneys questions related to your issue, you will receive responses from attorneys at no charge. The site will help you find a good lawyer.
You speak of "overwhelming evidence"....of what? Someone must have filed some type of petition to invoke Probate Court jurisdiction. These are the basic issues that you'll need to address, as they are what brought the Probate Court into the matter.
You can find an elder law attorney by contacting your county or state bar association. Call them, briefly explain the situation and ask if they would be interested in handling the case. Make sure you feel at least somewhat comfortable before committing to a legal representation, which isn't easy until you actually see the attorney. If you're not comfortable with any you interview, keep searching.
You'll need to provide the Probate court case number, name of the judge, and names of any other attorneys. Sometimes conflicts of interest exist, and any attorney you contact will need to do that kind of in-house check before agreeing to handle the case (unless you contact a sole practitioner).
It's easy to find an elder law attorney but harder to find one with which you're comfortable. You should have a checklist of questions to ask, including fees and rates, if a retainer agreement is required and what payment arrangements will be required. For this type of action, I would guess charges would be on an hourly rate, so inquire about that. Don't be surprised if they're upward of $300/hour.
As Igloo cautioned, step carefully when challenging the court on its alleged violation of your mother's choices. You may not know the entire situation.
The Court took jurisdiction for a reason; petitions can and would be dismissed if there's no foundation for jurisdiction.
You'll need to focus on that because the judge likely based whatever decisions you feel are violative on the facts that brought the case to the court in the first place.
Good luck. Legal battles are not easy.
You are in court you need an excellent elder law litigator not a will drafted. Go to the website AVVO to research elder law attorneys in your area. The site include information on what percentage of their practice is litigation. Also contains client and peer ratings. The site provides the opportunity to ask attorneys questions related to your issue, you will receive responses from attorneys at no charge. The site will help you find a good lawyer.