Aunt Gertrude knows that she may need help one day, and her niece Milly has been asking her to come and visit the assisted living home in her town, Blissful Living. Aunt Gertrude has a few friends who live there – one of them calls the place ‘pure bliss’ while the other calls it “B S Living” in a rather un-kind way.

While Aunt Gertrude is visiting Blissful Living, she is asked if she would sign some papers, simply to ‘get her ready’ in case one day she decides to move there. She signs the papers at her Niece Milly’s suggestion. The next thing Aunt Gertrude remembers is waking up in a locked Blissful dementia unit. She does not know how she got there, nor does she think she belongs there. When she protests, she is given an additional does of ‘medicine,’ after which she is groggy and foggy-headed for the majority of the next three days.

Aunt Gertrude’s niece Milly refuses to permit her to leave. Milly’s attorney tells the people at Blissful Living that they may not speak to anyone else from Aunt Gertrude’s family concerning Aunt Gertrude’s care. And all of this was done without a doctor having examining Aunt Gertrude to determine that she was suffering from dementia.

If all of this sounds too ‘way out’ there to be believable, well, it’s all happened before and could happen again. So why are we devoting an entire blog to this scary subject? Because too many agents like Milly think they can control their aged seniors, and too often the ‘system’ is used against the senior citizen.

Be vigilant. Be aware. Help those senior citizens around you steer clear!  Please contact Mateya Law Firm to assist you with your Power of Attorney needs.