Helen was in her late 60's when a stroke landed her in a nursing home. She was left with no ability to do anything for herself. She could not walk, talk, or understand anything.

Her daughter had signature power on her checking and savings account. She also had a debit card. The daughter made sure that as soon as Helen’s retirement money went into her account, it was withdrawn. Nobody had any idea where the money was going.

One place the money was not going was to the nursing home. The management could not get any cooperation from any family member for payment.

In an act of desperation, the nursing home contacted me and asked if I could get guardianship of Helen. Ohio law states that any interested person can apply to be a guardian. I agreed to act and was appointed by the probate court. Prior to the day before the hearing, I had never seen Helen.

I found that Helen’s bank accounts had routinely been bled dry. I contacted the people who were paying the benefits and had them redirected to the nursing home. I got authority to handle Helen’s bank accounts and cut off access by anyone else. The nursing home got her qualified for Medicaid.

I attempted to contact Helen’s son and daughter. The nursing home wanted me to sign a “Do Not Resuscitate Order” and I wanted their input. They failed to show up for appointments or return my calls.

Prearranged funeral plans needed to be made. Again, I got no family cooperation.

Eventually, the family did visit her. Helen died before I had to make any life-ending decisions.

What could Helen have done differently to prepare for such a horrible problem? It is an easy solution. Helen could have picked someone she knew, trusted, and loved to make decisions for her. A durable power of attorney for financial matters and advanced health directives would have totally avoided the problem.

Could you end up in Helen’s position? Contact Mularski, Bonham, Dittmer & Phillips at (614) 478-8020 for help! Failing to plan is planning to fail.