Q: I have a friend who has been abandoned in a nursing home. What steps can I take to make medical decisions on her behalf? My friend suffered a heart attack and was to never wake up. She was put in a home. She has since waken up and can speak she knows peoples places emotions. Her son is in jail and her daughter is on drugs really bad no one has seen her since Christmas last year. But she has been collecting checks on her mother’s behalf. The staff can’t even let us comb her hair and they can’t get her into speech and physical therapy without her daughters consent. She is making so much progress and she could even make more with the right care. The staff says she is not ready to speak on her own care yet. I don’t want money or anything like that I want to be able to make medical decisions for her. Any help would be greatly appreciated. She is a part of my family.
A: If she is not competent to sign a Power of Attorney to you, you probably should consult with an attorney about filing a guardianship for her. The guardianship fees, expenses and attorneys fees can come out of her income and assets, and you should not have to pay.