My friends mom (we will call her Hazel) is in a nursing home and her attorney is preparing two trusts for her - a beneficiary grantor trust and a trust that she can spend down as she needs for nursing home expenses etc for the next five years. It has taken over six months and the trusts still are not signed and there is always a ridiculous excuse by Hazel not to sign because something else has come up (like a bad lunch that day or nurses not giving her enough ettention). Sooooooo as each month passes it is costing her 10,000 for her nursing home expenses as well as attorneys fees (about 1,500 + a month) as well as her own home maintenence costs. The attorney had no problem getting her to sign papers for POA's when Hazel was brought into the hospital in January(did it the day she met and hired the attorney) but now it is dragging on and on. The attorney insists she is competent to sign a trust, but her son who knows her better than anyone, knows she isnt (i know she isnt also because ive known her for thirty years). She is a detriment to herself (thats why she was brought into the hospital because she was homebound and wouldnt allow drs or anyone to help her) and to others (threatened neighbors with shovel). She is eccentric, OCD and has bouts of depression and has had nervous breakdowns in the past. The attorney insists in order to sign a trust the grantor must be competent (btw what is the criteria for being deemed competent? )
My question here is this - can the POA (her son) sign the trust (that was drawn up months ago) ??? Or should he go for gaurdianship, have her deemed incompetent and handle her care and finances himself?? Can a trust still be made then to protect her assets?? We know that Hazel is incompetent but the attorney seems to be acting even more so! She is allowing Hazel to squander all her money away, (like 80.00 a wk for a hairwash ) when it should be handled in a more prudent manor. She is also a sitting duck in the hospital nursing home for all the charities that hit her up atleast once a month for big checks (and the attorney says let her do it, its her money) So to reiterate, the questions are: Go for gaurdianship? or can the POA sign the trusts (so she can qualify for medicaid in 5 yrs. and get the ball rolling for not squandering her $ away) thanks for your help,
Margot
PS Sorry to go off on tangents but wanted you to get the whole picture here.

