My uncle is 91, his partner(though not married) is now in hospice due to dying on cancer. The partner has decided to make a neighbor my uncle's guardian without communicating to any of the family members. My uncle wants my sister and I to be his guardians. We only found this out by going to my uncle's home when we could make phone calls to him for 3 weeks. The neighbor said my uncle's partner is dying in 2 weeks, the papers have been done and he doesn't want us to visit or speak with my uncle again. What can we do? We had no idea that this was going on behind his back. They just told him 2 weeks ago Ray was dying. The money is already given to another friend of my uncles partner, all my uncles properties have been sold and they have emptied his bank accounts so that he qualifies for government programs. I am afraid his life will be very short... do we have any rights? Can we contest, see the documents, understand the arrangements, keep this neighbor monitored? My uncle helped raise me, I owe him this but feel helpless. I don't care about any of the money, he already gave me all the love he had, I just want to care for him and make sure he is well treated. Please help me. I live in California and asked his partner to have my uncle come live with me. The answer was arrangements have already been made. I have time, but not much money for lawyers. Can anyone give me advice. I'm leaving on a plane on Sunday to say my last goodbyes,He can't even use the phone to call me, he is a prisoner. At a minimum I want to take steps immediately to put them on warning that I won't go away.
I don't know how someone other than the court can appoint a guardian to your uncle. Did Uncle appoint them as POA? Were neighbors the Alternate POA? Ask for a copy of the POA.
Also,
I might check the court files in the county where your uncle lives to see if a case for Guardianship has been opened. If so, you should be able to see what has taken place. Normally, family members are required to be noticed when these proceedings begin. I'd check that AND you might see if there is an ACCOUNTING on file with the Clerk of Court. Some POA's require that the person in charge file Accountings documenting where the money has been spent, receipts, etc.
Regardless of the status, there should be a paper trial of the funds and where they have gone. If your uncle applies for Medicaid, they will require proof of income and assets and an explanation of where they went.
Why would uncle's partner not communicate with family members? Was there some estrangement there? If Uncle raised you it would seem there would be ongoing contact. Was Partner's decision based on geographic distance?
It would be up to a court, not Partner, to assign a guardian, though Partner could have petitioned the court and got the ball rolling. Yes, you can find out who the legal guardian is. I hope someone with that experience will tell you how.
Why would the guardian say you cannot visit your uncle? What is behind all this animosity?
There must be a backstory here. More information will help us answer you.
You may need the help of an Elder Law attorney to pursue this.