I had a panicked message from a prospective client. She was her mother’s caregiver and had been paying her mom’s bills and buying her groceries. Her mom was sending money to everyone who mailed her a letter asking for help, so she had taken all the checkbooks.
Her mom had a fit when she couldn’t find a checkbook to send money to the charity that mailed her a letter. Mom has limited income and was behind on her bills and could not afford to send money. Mom called her neighbor and said her daughter was stealing from her. The neighbor called Adult Protective Services.
The caller was afraid she was going to be arrested. I squeezed her in for an appointment and had her gather copies of the checks and receipts. It was easy to show Adult Protective Services that nothing was wrong. I am now updating all of the Mom’s legal documents so that the daughter’s authority is clear. Since the neighbor is a good friend, we have included her in some of our conversations so she can help both mom and daughter and know that when mom complains that the daughter is stealing that all is well; she can even help us comfort mom as the dementia had made mom paranoid.
If you get the call from a neighbor or Adult Protective Services, give me a call so we can figure out how to solve your problems.
