Legal Question in Criminal Law in Illinois

1. Schizophrenic brother will be moving to unsupervised independent living. He will be responsibile for paying his subsitdized rent, purchasing own food & meds (Currrently living in mental Health facility that is advocating this independent living situation)

2. There is a requirement that he attend a daily 2-3 hr work program.

3.He has never lived alone and has a history not taking his meds, poor financial responsibility etc.

4. They want us to be involved in getting his SS check and helping him with money management so the solution is opening up a joint checking acct with him and dole out the money as needed.

QUESTION:

What are the legal ramifications if the brother goes off his medications and harms someone? What legal responsibility do family members have now that we have a jointt checking acct with him. Is that seen as condoning a potentially harmful individual to commit a crime? He doesn't have a history of violence but he is still schizophrenic. We own a business and are concerned about a potential law suit if he should get into trouble.


Asked on 11/08/10, 5:28 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

First of all, who is "they"? You do not identify who "they" is. As to a joint checking account, it would be better if the checking account simply required two signatures, but I would also check with the nearest Social Security office because as long as the money is separate if he runs into trouble creditors generally can't attack SS benefits, but if someone else has access to them or you add other funds occasionally to help him out that protection may go away and advice from the SSA is free too. A joint checking account means that if he and another family member own the account, if he overdraws either owner can be liable for the overdraft. You ought to talk to a bank and see what the options are. As to his behavior as an adult in independent living, is this a HUD subsidized housing under a Section 811 program, or a group home, or what? Are services bundled with the housing or just available "off campus". If he's in a diagnosis specific facility it's one thing. And when you say "unsupervised" it's yet another. I think you need to have a family member who understands what is going on assist here, or designate one to become more familiar, or have someone who is knowledgeable accompany you and him until all these issues are laid out and understood. Yes he will be responsible as an adult; in Illinois diminished mental capacity is a statutory factor that mitigates against a death penalty in a murder case, but unlike Law & Order I can not say whether a person who suffers from schizophrenia and could be OK on meds can take advantage of the defense if he or she fails to stay on the meds -- for that I defer to a criminal law attorney and if nobody here can answer that I suggest spending the time for a brief consultation with one because it could be your brother's life at stake. OK?

The response given is not intended to create, nor does it create an ongoing duty to respond to questions. The response does not form an attorney-client relationship, nor is it intended to be anything other than the educated opinion of the author. It should not be relied upon as legal advice. The response given is based upon the limited facts provided by the person asking the question. To the extent additional or different facts exist, the response might possibly change. Attorney is licensed to practice law only in the State of Illinois. Responses are based solely on Illinois law unless stated otherwise.

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Answered on 11/18/10, 8:39 pm


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