She is a control freak and wants my mom to make her power of attorney. I take care of my mom who has dementia but is still totally coherent. I also live with my mom. My sister want to be MPO and cant stand that she is not. My mom wants to make my son who is 27 years old to make her decisions. I know he will do a wonderful job because he is reasonable and would not do anything unless it was in the best interest of my mom. In addition moms mobile home is in her name and my sisters name, Mom is leaving it to me and I have paid my sister money that she had paid. She will not change the names on the title, which should be in my name only now in case she will end up in a nursing home. Neither one of this wants this, but sister does. I am so distraught over my sister and what she does and says that I am a total wreck. I know this is long but I need to vent and maybe some of you can give me some advice.
I'm not sure if you're looking for technical advice re. MPO, your mom's inheritance and your sister, or if you're just looking for support re. your sister...?
If the former, it would depend on your mom's finances--does she have enough assets that there will be an inheritance? Or will there be virtually nothing in her name so that she can qualify for Medicaid (there's a 5-yr lookback)?
Either way, you may want to consult an attorney who specializes in this sort of thing. If finances are a concern, I'm sure there are free resources if you consult your local Dept. of Aging/Elderly Services.
If you're looking for support re. your sister being difficult, I can offer you tons of that. We are a family of 3 siblings (sis, me, brother, in that order) and mom, who is 88, suffers from early stage dementia and lives in Assisted Living. Sis has done nothing but criticize everyone on everything. Meanwhile, she hasn't lifted a finger in helping out or even visiting mom. And she expects to inherit an equal share in everything, in spite of the fact that she has never visited mom (who used to live 10 min's away) and has done nothing to help with any of mom's care, bills or living situation.
It is def. a challenge and makes me pray hard for karma. What keeps me sane is attending a support group for caregivers and turning to friends for support, since I obviously don't have family for that. We also ended up hiring an attorney to manage all of mom's financial & business affairs. If we didn't have the resources to pay for that, I'm sure it would have all fallen on me, which is difficult since I work full time and have a long commute.
I think you should sit down with mom while she is still coherent (and therefore, your sister will have a harder time challenging mom's decisions, vs. further down when mom's dementia gets worse) and figure out what her wishes are. Strongly recommend having a neutral witness there, so sis can't say you coerced mom. Then, execute mom's wishes or get it down in writing before mom's dementia and health declines. Trust me, with dementia, you do not want to wait too long for things to get worse before making any changes like that.
Finally, good luck! I completely understand what you are going through and can relate! Turn to your friends, other supportive family members and a group. It sounds like you can use the support.
fligirl58 - with the mobile home titled to your mom and sister, your mom is only able to bequeath her half of it to you. If your mom does die without having had to go into a nursing home, you would inherit her half (if she has a will that specifies that), and your sister would retain her half, so you'd own it together. If your mom doesn't have a will, you and your sister would inherit your mom's half, resulting in your sister owning 75% of the mobile home.
Also, as pamstegman points out, if your mom goes into a nursing home, her assets (including her half of the mobile home), will have to be used to pay for her care.
"You don't ever have to feel guilty about removing toxic people from your life. It doesn't matter whether someone is a relative, romantic interest, employer, childhood friend, or a new acquaintance. --You don't have to make room for people who cause you pain or make you feel small. It's one thing if a person owns up to their behavior and makes an effort to change. But if a person disregards your feelings, ignores your boundaries, and "continues" to treat you in a harmful way, they need to go. ~Danielle Koepke~
I have a brother that I haven't gotten along with for years. I tried to "make it work" and finally got to the point that I realize that the relationship is toxic to me and decided to follow the above advise. I find that life is a lot easier now that we're not speaking to each other. Mom lives with me and if there was an issue with Mom, of course, I would call him. It is so unfortunate that we don't get along, but I must say that if we weren't siblings, he is not someone that I would associate with at all.
Enjoy your life and forget sis.
two cents ¢¢
She said whdn you get that old, your memory wont me as good. Give her memory
bills likegingoa bilboa and I do it with my mom and it has Helped her memory a lot. Also give her fish oil.
called upon to help my Stepdad. He himself just recently suffered a hernia from lifting my Mother and still refuses to see a doctor about it. I don't want to see their very hard earned money, considering how my Mother sacrificed to save it, taken by Medicaid for maybe six months of nursing home care in a situation that very well might see Medicaid still funding her care for the following 10-12 years. (She's 86, my grandmother lived to 100. Dementia sneaking up on my Mother was a real shocker, as she is well otherwise). I've always told my Stepfather to buy another house as a way to protect some of his money. Now I see that this might be the best advice either. Thanks in advance for any enlightenment you might offer this confused hurting daughter and DIL.