Legal Question in Elder Law in Minnesota

Can an incompetency ruling be reversed?

An elderly friend was recently declared incompetent and appointed a guardian. She has no family. She requested to see her Doctor before she was taken into custody and was denied. Her car was taken away, her locks changed on her house, her bank accounts closed and she was sent to the Twin Cities for evaluation. Her diagnosis was Psychosis which her Doctor, a specialist in Geriatrics, disagrees with. He diagnosed a treatable medical condition. We feel she was shang-haied and that this never would've happened if she was not wealthy and had family. She is now in a nursing home and all involved, including her, feel this is a good place for her. She's very concerned about suddenly having no control over her assets and for not being able to make her own decisions. How can one be declared competent?

Thank You.


Asked on 3/28/05, 10:11 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Steven Vatndal Law Office of Steven J. Vatndal

Re: Can an incompetency ruling be reversed?

There is a statutory proceedure for reversing the appointment of guardian (and presumably also a conservator). It is required by statute that her status be reviewed on a periodic basis, typically annually. If the time of the next review is too far away, a petition can still be filed now to review her status. The problem will be whether she can hire an atty to help her do this. The other possibility is if someone will hire an atty to look into this and see if anything can be done right now. The person who hires the atty will be stuck with the bill if it is determined she cannot hire the atty. Also, have you contacted the county social services dept. to see if they can help?

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Answered on 3/29/05, 9:22 am


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