Legal Question in Elder Law in Illinois

sick elderly parent
Hi. My aunt is in her 70's, and was recently diagnosed with Inflamatory Breast Cancer. On top of that, we were informed that she seems to be suffering from early onset alzheimers. her youngest of 2 sons, has been staying with her a night, and on weekends, and refuses to feed her or give her her meds, when he's with her. She does have another son, but this one feels like he has more rights over their mother. He's also taken money out of her accounts;over 10K, without her consent, which angered her, and he tried to get more out of other accts, but she has her oldest son down ahead of his, which prevented him from taking money out of those. Since, he's tried bullying her to sign legal papers so that he can access her funds and make decisions over her and her assets. So far she's said no. To many of us, it seems that my cousin wants her to die. She had mentioned it herself couple weeks ago. Just yesterday, she was found in her bed, weak, curtains closed, no light, and not fed. He won't even give her, her thyroid medication, knowing she needs it for her heart. He keeps telling her she only has breast infection and that she doesnt need anything. What can her oldest son, or we as her family do? please help.

Asked on 11/18/07, 11:17 am

2 Answers from Attorneys

Zedrick Braden III Ainsworth & Associates PC

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Re: sick elderly parent

Hello. I just read your posted question. I strongly recommend that you open a Disabled Persons Estate for you aunt and seek to get yourself of another family member appointed as her guardian. This can be done and should be done quickly to prevent your aunt from suffering anymore harm. A Disabled Persons Estate is a court supervised

proceeding which allows the court to appoint a responsible guardian for the purpose of handling a person's business. Usually the court's appointment permits another to be the guardian of the person and of the person's estate. This is a very efficient process and the court's main objective is to protect the person physically and financially. Initially the court will appoint a guardian ad litem from its approved list to go out and interview the person to determine the extent to which they are disabled. In your aunt's situation this should not be a problem since she has already been victimized by her son. After the guardian ad litem returns to court and reports that the person is a disabled person, the court will then as guardian the family member or friend who filed the original petition. I will be happy to answer any additional questions or be of assistance to you.

Answered on 11/18/07, 3:01 pm

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