Q: He would go home to his “wife”, but she doesn’t want him at home. It is not right. He is wealthy and is now on walker and needs assistance but wife doesn’t want to help. His mind is sharp as a tack still but when he was ill he gave wife and son power of attorney. His son has control over his money. He wants to go home and get a nurse but they won’t let him. Can he get help? They just don’t want to be bothered and have a nurse there all the time. It cost him 6,000 a month to live at this nursing place. He is not dead yet and they won’t let him live his life what he has left.

A: If he is still competent, it is up to him whether he wants to return home with a nurse. Even if the wife son are his Agents on a Power of Attorney, he still can make decisions for himself. He may also want to consider a new POA in which he appoints a new Agent. This will have the legal effect of revoking the old POA. If what you say is true and he is competent, he should consult with an attorney as to his wishes. In theory, he should be able to sign himself out of a nursing home and contract for home nursing care on his own. It sounds like there may be a family conflict, which is unfortunate. I am not sure if there is any service the Department of Aging can provide to intervene but it may be worth a call. I think it would be very beneficial and perhaps dispositive, if his doctor would approve of him returning home with nursing care.