Newspaper Page Text
HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
The role of guardian
A difficult road but the rewards are great
Dear Mr. Rockefeller,
I am worried about
my father. He does
not seem td be thinking
clearly and I want to make
sure that he receives the
right treatment and that
nothing bad happens with
his money. What can I do?
Dear Reader, True help
lessness is watching a loved
one suffer from a mental
health problem and being
unable to offer any construc
tive support. I do not envy
you with your road ahead.
In my practice, I often find
myself attempting to assist
families struggling with an
addict or an abusive spouse
or an elderly parent losing
his or her grip on reality.
The consequences are not
pretty.
It sounds like you and
your family are realizing
Alphabet soup for seniors
Have you ever looked
into assistance pro
grams for seniors?
The good news is there is
a myriad of assistance pro
grams for seniors; the bad
news is trying to understand
them is like trying to snorkel
through a bowl of alphabet
soup. For example there are
HHA’s, HCA’s, AoA, AARR
PERS, OAA, etc., etc. and I
could go on and on but I’m
sure you get the idea.
Trying to wade through
these various assistance pro
grams is enough to try your
patience to the point of aban
donment. But wait....there is
good news in the form of a
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Jim
Rockefeller
Attorney,
Rockefeller
Law Center
a painful end-of-life dete
rioration of a father’s fac
ulties. This must be par
ticularly distressing during
the holiday season. As par
ents live longer, dementia,
Alzheimer’s, and depression
lurk. Recovery from the
slow progression of these
diseases is often ephemeral,
while children try to cobble
together what finances they
can to make sure that their
parent has as comfortable a
"All About Seniors"
Bill Milby
Visiting
Angels
one stop website that takes
your personalized data and
gives you a print out specifi
cally for you or your senior
loved one.
The web site is www.
BenefitsCheckUp.org. Just
to try it out I recently went
life as possible.
There are a few legal tools
available for a family . . .
very few. If someone has
truly lost the ability to rea
son, regardless of the age,
he/ she has, legally, lost the
ability to contract and pro
vide for him/herself. Such
a person has a legal status
similar to that of a minor
and a probate judge can step
in to appoint a guardian to
make decisions and manage
the person’s affairs.
To be appointed such a
guardian, you have to apply
to the probate judge, who in
turn appoints a “guardian
ad litem” to make a rec
ommendation to the judge
on granting or denying the
request. Possible heirs and
family members must be
noticed with this request
and offered an opportunity
on the site on behalf of some
elderly family members who
are in their 80s, entered their
data, which took less than
10 minutes and presto, there
was a printout just for them
showing a list of nineteen
assistance programs they
are eligible for. I won’t bore
you with the entire list and
official government agency
names but I will give you a
sampling so you can get the
idea:
• Digital TV transition
coupon
• VA Health Care System
• Adult Day Service
• Respite Services
Program
• Home Care Services
• Homestead Tax
Exemption
• Senior Housing Options
• Elderly nutrition pro
grams
• Transportation
to object. The GAL may talk
with all of the family mem
bers, including the appli
cant and parent, to deter
mine what is in the elderly
person’s best interests.
More importantly, the par
ent’s doctors have to medi
cally confirm that the par
ent is no longer able to care
or make decisions for him/
herself, essentially declaring
this parent “incompetent.”
A probate judge will
very carefully assess the
application. The applicant
for guardianship may be
required to take a drug test,
submit a credit report, pro
vide a criminal background
check or make such other
proof as deemed necessary
to establish the fitness of
the applicant.
And, if the request is
granted, a yearly report
Program
And the list goes on ... But
it doesn’t stop there. With
each program listed is the
name of the agency, a physi
cal address, a phone num
ber, fax number, a website
if applicable, and a list of
what documents you need
to provide to qualify for the
benefits.
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will need to be made to the
judge of the condition and
depletion of any of the par
ent’s assets; a painstaking
budgeting process for the
guardian. Except for ordi
nary expenditures, if the
guardian wishes to spend
the parent’s money, called
“invasion of the corpus,”
application will need to be
made to the judge justifying
the decision.
Being appointed a guard
ian can be a thankless job.
While you can be paid for
your efforts, the demands
are great.
Dealing with doctors,
managing money, and, in
some cases, silently suffer
ing abuse from the fading
parent are all endemic to
the mantle of guardian.
Also, these prickly fam
ily situations can create
Why not consider going
online during the Christmas
holidays for your loved ones
and see what they might
qualify for. You may be sur
prised to find out what Santa
has left under the tree for
them in the way of special
senior benefits! And, it’s a
whole lot easier than snor
keling in alphabet soup
significant strife and stress.
Still, what greater reward is
there, but to ease a parent’s
descent into a quiet and
peaceful death?
In short, I commend you
for your concern about a
problem we are all increas
ingly facing. Be forewarned
the road ahead of being a
guardian is difficult, but the
rewards are great. I wish
you and your father the best
of luck.
Local attorney Jim
Rockefeller owns the
Rockefeller Law Center and
is a former Houston County
Chief Assistant District
Attorney, and a former
Miami Prosecutor. Visit www.
rockefellerlawcenter.com to
submit confidential legal
questions, and to review for
mer articles and Frequently
Asked Questions.
Bill Milby is a retired 30
year veteran executive with
Blue Bird Corporation and
current Director of Visiting
Angels of Macon, a non-med
ical, living assistance service
for seniors. You can reach him
at wmilby@visitingangels.
com if you have questions
or comments about this col
umn.
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La!