How can I protect my grandfather's assets?
Answers
Any advice you get or take must be tempered with a dose of reality: Short of getting your grandfather a personality transplant, there may be nothing you can do to change his wily and unpredictable ways. After all, he’s had them for 93 years.
And I do sympathize. Characters like your grandfather are generally more entertaining when they’re in a move—or someone else’s family.
First concern first: getting control of his assets. A bit of sobering news here, too: Unless your grandfather can be shown to be legally incompetent to control his assets, he retains the legal right to do whatever he wants with his property. If you are concerned about his mental acuity, though, and feel that dementia is clouding his ability to make meaningful decisions, there are a couple legal documents you might consider putting in place.
The first, a power of attorney for finances, would allow another person to control and manage your grandfather’s assets in his own best interests. It doesn’t sound as if that may be possible in your situation, however, since it would require your grandfather to agree to the situation and to choose a person as his agent.
The other possibility is more drastic: Secure a legal guardianship or conservatorship for your grandfather. A conservatorship, also called an adult guardianship, gives a person the legal right to make necessary decisions on behalf of another adult who cannot live independently. It would allow the person appointed to oversee or personally be responsible for the other’s care, custody, and control.
The person seeking to be appointed conservator will have to explain to the local probate court why he or she is the best person for the job. And surviving family members will be notified about the procedure and may contest it. It will be up to the court to decide whether the conservatorship is the best route to pursue.
Whether you will need to hire an attorney for help with this process depends on the set-up of your local probate court; they vary wildly. Courts in some places have established some very good self-help centers that provide necessary forms and instructions for how to complete and file them. Find out by doing a search of your city or county and the words "conservatorship" or "guardianship."
Whatever happens with these legal controls on your grandfather’s property, you should check out action against that scam artist at once. Contact the local Adult Protective Services office; most have staffers or hotline operators who will review your concerns confidentially and either intercede or refer you to additional targeted local resources for help.
Alajobe, I had a similar experience with my father and brother (who took assets on "loan").
All I can advise is if you are concerned enough and it is worth your while spend the time to build a relationship with your grandfather. This has advantages-- * you will spend time with him before he's gone and only in your memory * you will ensure he has enough assets to care for your grandmother who needs 24/7 care * you will ensure a "con" doesn't get your grandfather's assets
Given the benefits, you need to determine if you or a family member can (want to) spend time patiently (re)building a relationship with him and building trust.
It took me three years after my mother died and my father started showing signs of dementia. After that, as my career slowly took a detour on the road of caregiving, it took many visits to his home 2,000 miles away. Eventually, he felt comfortable with how I was helping him. My husband and I eventually moved him into our home in California.
Although it affected my income, family is family, and I learned a lot about myself--priceless.
First of all you may need to find out if your grandfather ever made a trust. If he did then possibly within that trust is has a Power of Attorney already set up. I can tell you that no doctor wants to say that a person is incompetent, it is almost impossible. They walk in and speak to the person with dementia for five minutes and if they respond then they look at you, like you are crazy and say the person is fine. This has driven me crazy. It's like no one wants to be the "bad guy" when you are trying to save your loved one from losing everything.
You will have to get the help of an attorney most likely and seek guardianship or conservatorship. YOU MUST GET THIS CON GUY STOPPED IMMEDIATELY, DO NOT REST UNTIL YOU HANDLE THIS MATTER. If your grandfather signs any papers for this guy, you will have lost everything and your grandparents could be left sitting there with nothing.
Bad news is the "blustering" of your grandfather will only get worse with the dementia. My lovely sweet Mother can now drive you nuts with her anger outbursts.
Best of luck in all that you are facing.
