My aunt, Anne, is being emotionally abusive to my 95-year old grandmother. Anne is also verbally abusive towards the nursing home staff. She has snuck an attorney into the nursing home in an attempt to get my grandmother to sign paperwork changing power of attorney. Fortunately the alarmed nursing home staff recognized what was going on and immediately called my other aunt, Kate, who has had power of attorney for the last 30 years. Kate rushed to the nursing home and stopped the process. That attorney dropped her as a client but she got another one.
Now my aunt is apparently preparing to sue Kate, my dad (he's Kate and Anne's brother) as well as the nursing home. This is all occurring in the state of Texas. Anne has never been emotionally stable. She has sued her own children, and she is completely estranged from her kids and grandkids. They even keep their addresses a secret so she can't track them down. She has latched onto my grandmother as her "cause" in the last couple of years, finding fault with my grandmother's current nursing home care and making it her mission in life to wrestle power of attorney from Kate. When my grandmother was lucid, she assigned POA to Kate, since she recognized Anne's mental illness. Anne is the oldest and this seems to bother her.
Prior to this sudden interest, Anne lived about an hour away from my Grandmother, but would only visit her 2-3 times a year.
My grandmother suffers from the early stages of dementia. She is incontinent, bedridden, cannot dress herself and often requires help to feed herself. The nursing home facility that she's in provides 24-hour-a-day skilled nursing care which is what she needs. My dad and Kate researched this particular nursing home thoroughly and visited dozens before choosing it. Anne hates the nursing home and thinks that my grandmother should be moved into a 6-bedroom house which serves as a "home for seniors" in San Antonio.
The current nursing home says they cannot ban Anne from the premises unless she is physically abusive.
We've got video of my grandmother stating she does not want to move into the assisted living facility. When Anne is around her, however, she berates her into saying the opposite. My grandmother has moments where she thinks clearly, and moments when she gets confused.
Anne's own living conditions are likely to be substandard. She has 5+ cats and has been unable to use her computer before because they urinate on the keyboard. Anne once visited me in my home 15 years ago and turned on my gas stove but did not light it, filling the kitchen with gas. She also steals books from the library and has stolen her neighbor's cats when she moves.
Anne does have a history of nickel-and-diming my grandmother for money. For example, if she brings my grandmother a $10 bottle of homeopathic supplements, she will turn the receipt into Kate to be reimbursed for the expense. Still, I don't think that money is her only motivation. I think she is just bitter and angry and so mentally ill she's not assessing the situation correctly. We are not sure where she is getting the money to pay for her legal pursuits.
So, what can we do about Anne? It seems that Texas only grants restraining orders if there are threats of violence. We obviously have an attorney acting on Kate's behalf, but we really don't want to get into a long, legal battle. Kate is so exhausted - she is in her mid 70s herself. Still, we're concerned that Anne will somehow succeed in manipulating the situation to her advantage.
Prior to this sudden interest, Anne lived about an hour away from my Grandmother, but would only visit her 2-3 times a year.
My grandmother suffers from the early stages of dementia. She is incontinent, bedridden, cannot dress herself and often requires help to feed herself. The nursing home facility that she's in provides 24-hour-a-day skilled nursing care which is what she needs. My dad and Kate researched this particular nursing home thoroughly and visited dozens before choosing it. Anne hates the nursing home and thinks that my grandmother should be moved into a 6-bedroom house which serves as a "home for seniors" in San Antonio.
The current nursing home says they cannot ban Anne from the premises unless she is physically abusive.
We've got video of my grandmother stating she does not want to move into the assisted living facility. When Anne is around her, however, she berates her into saying the opposite. My grandmother has moments where she thinks clearly, and moments when she gets confused.
Anne's own living conditions are likely to be substandard. She has 5+ cats and has been unable to use her computer before because they urinate on the keyboard. Anne once visited me in my home 15 years ago and turned on my gas stove but did not light it, filling the kitchen with gas. She also steals books from the library and has stolen her neighbor's cats when she moves.
Anne does have a history of nickel-and-diming my grandmother for money. For example, if she brings my grandmother a $10 bottle of homeopathic supplements, she will turn the receipt into Kate to be reimbursed for the expense. Still, I don't think that money is her only motivation. I think she is just bitter and angry and so mentally ill she's not assessing the situation correctly. We are not sure where she is getting the money to pay for her legal pursuits.
So, what can we do about Anne? It seems that Texas only grants restraining orders if there are threats of violence. We obviously have an attorney acting on Kate's behalf, but we really don't want to get into a long, legal battle. Kate is so exhausted - she is in her mid 70s herself. Still, we're concerned that Anne will somehow succeed in manipulating the situation to her advantage.