What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Illinois
Hello, I have a very complex family situation to ask for legal advice about. Please do bear with me. I have an 84-year-old great uncle, who has never been married and is childless. He is located in the state of Illinois. He’s been deteriorating mentally and physically for quite some time now. Back in 1998, he set up a trust for me and three other great nephews of $20,000 each to be distributed towards our college educations once we turned 18. Some time in 2003 my aunt (his niece) started getting handouts from him and from my grandparents as well to finance her living and divorce expenses. It started out as what I believe to be almost $50,000 a year and went on for some years. In about December of 2007 my uncle made some kind of financial decision to reduce his generosity by ¼. As far as we could tell, he was making what appeared to be a very sound decision to save up for his retirement. I don’t believe anything changed until sometime last year when he was short, but he put off his move to a retirement home to give away money to my aunt and for the past year. The thing that makes this more than what it sounds like is that he has been on a very gradual level showing signs of dementia. For some strange reason the trust that he had set up is gone and he is struggling to find an affordable retirement home with some help from his nearby nieces and nephews. He appears to be in desperate need of it with his mental state. Of course his decline is inevitable, but he appears to be incapable of making these decisions for himself. Unfortunately, it is unclear to me at what point his health took that particular turn, but I always thought he had managed money well most of his life. He retired in his 50s. I am guessing that what he set aside for himself and for his great nephews has diminished, because he made an error in judgment due to a senile mindset. I know that no one in my family would knowingly take advantage of his state, but he was definitely asked for a certain amount of money by my aunt and grandparents, because they felt my aunt needed extra support. So now I’m going to get to my basic questions. What is the procedure for seizing custody of a man with condition? Also does it have to be the person’s next of kin? In this case, it would be my grandfather his older brother, who is mentally, but not physically stable and ill equipped to travel. Another thing that might complicate the situation is that although he lives in Illinois, we are spread out among Indiana, Ohio, NJ, and NY. When he is placed in a retirement his apartment will likely be sold for close to half a million dollars, but there is no telling what will be done or need to be done with that money whether he or someone else controls it. If he were to die in the near future with his beneficiaries (which may include the whole family and a church) not given what was planned in his initial will, then how can it be distributed. Can my aunt be held liable for receiving unlawful handouts when she didn’t knowingly steal anything? Any legal advice would be much appreciated.
Hello, I have a very complex family situation to ask for legal advice about. Please do bear with me. I have an 84-year-old great uncle, who has never been married and is childless. He is located in the state of Illinois. He’s been deteriorating mentally and physically for quite some time now. Back in 1998, he set up a trust for me and three other great nephews of $20,000 each to be distributed towards our college educations once we turned 18. Some time in 2003 my aunt (his niece) started getting handouts from him and from my grandparents as well to finance her living and divorce expenses. It started out as what I believe to be almost $50,000 a year and went on for some years. In about December of 2007 my uncle made some kind of financial decision to reduce his generosity by ¼. As far as we could tell, he was making what appeared to be a very sound decision to save up for his retirement. I don’t believe anything changed until sometime last year when he was short, but he put off his move to a retirement home to give away money to my aunt and for the past year. The thing that makes this more than what it sounds like is that he has been on a very gradual level showing signs of dementia. For some strange reason the trust that he had set up is gone and he is struggling to find an affordable retirement home with some help from his nearby nieces and nephews. He appears to be in desperate need of it with his mental state. Of course his decline is inevitable, but he appears to be incapable of making these decisions for himself. Unfortunately, it is unclear to me at what point his health took that particular turn, but I always thought he had managed money well most of his life. He retired in his 50s. I am guessing that what he set aside for himself and for his great nephews has diminished, because he made an error in judgment due to a senile mindset. I know that no one in my family would knowingly take advantage of his state, but he was definitely asked for a certain amount of money by my aunt and grandparents, because they felt my aunt needed extra support. So now I’m going to get to my basic questions. What is the procedure for seizing custody of a man with condition? Also does it have to be the person’s next of kin? In this case, it would be my grandfather his older brother, who is mentally, but not physically stable and ill equipped to travel. Another thing that might complicate the situation is that although he lives in Illinois, we are spread out among Indiana, Ohio, NJ, and NY. When he is placed in a retirement his apartment will likely be sold for close to half a million dollars, but there is no telling what will be done or need to be done with that money whether he or someone else controls it. If he were to die in the near future with his beneficiaries (which may include the whole family and a church) not given what was planned in his initial will, then how can it be distributed. Can my aunt be held liable for receiving unlawful handouts when she didn’t knowingly steal anything? Any legal advice would be much appreciated.
