[DonnaP49]

My 82 year old father from whom I am estranged is a very difficult man with control issues. He has recently been charged with theft under $5000 and has a court appearance on May 31. He has POA for my mother who suffers from fairly advanced Alzheimers disease. Mom was in hospital for a lengthy period before finally being placed in a Nursing/retirement home that has the specific skills needed to care for my Mom. My father has been a verbally aggressive visitor at the home being very critical of the care Mom receives and has finally found (with the assistance of a paralegal) a loophole that will let my father take my mother out of the home. The date is set for May 17. I have very serious concerns about my father's ability to make decisions that are in the best interest of my mother both in terms of her health and safety. I have been threatened by my father many times and have gone to Victim services. I cannot negotiate with my father and expect him to be rational because the only right way is what he believes. Dad has gone to the extent of cutting trees down on my property because he thought they should be cut down even after I said no.
Do I have any way of getting the courts to order a Capacity assessment on my father given that he has a criminal charge to deal with? Can he be referred at least for a fitness to stand trial assessment at the very least with emphasis on his decision making. I am very concerned and stressed about my mother being in peril especially as my father will not allow anybody into his home and I will not have any access to my mother. I want my mother to have some quality of life in her final years given the nature of her dementia and feel very strongly that this quality is better in the hands of her present placement where her needs are provided in a safe and nurturing environment. I am certain that her life expectancy will radically decline if my father has sole care for her.
Please help using the email address [email protected]

[smearcase]

Depending on where you are located there may be some public social work agencies or other related Office on Aging type agencies who can help you with this. And you may need an attorney to get help with canceling his assignment as POA. And the nursing home ombudsman (name usually posted on bulletin board in the facility) may be able to suggest a course of action.