Tag Archives: ABUSE OF POWERS

What kind of lawyer do I hire for an emergency guardianship?

Q: My sister who has been POA since 2015 has set in place a Personal Care Contract as she is the primary care giver to deplete my father’s assets to seek Medicaid in the future. He has a house being sold in 45 days. He won’t be eligible 5 years and he is at stage 6 of Alzheimer’s. She has breached her fiduciary duties in many areas, depositing his money in her personal account, has been deceptive in not posting promissory notes payable to me. I am not on the PCC. We all just learned that this lifetime contract is payable in a lump sum at the closing of the house. She said she is taking half which equated to $180,000. She has abused her role as POA. She has breached her fiduciary duties and is using this PCC to her own benefit as she is currently on the market for a house. A top-rated Medicaid attorney has drafted this PCC but my sister is not being fair as her greed for money has overstepped her bounds of looking for the best interest of my father. What are my rights? (Pittsburgh, PA)

A: There are several red flags here, at least the way you describe them. Depositing a principal’s money in her own account while acting as an agent in a fiduciary capacity, is a big problem, if true. If your suspicions are accurate, one of your remedies would be to hire an attorney to file a Petition for Accounting which would result in her having to file an account of all his funds spent by her. If warranted, you could simultaneously file to be her Guardian. Without more details, I the only advice I can give is consult with an elder care attorney versed in Medicaid regulations. It may be well worth the consultation fee.