Question asked on Jan 23rd, 2015

Q: I have a parent who has a long and documented history of alcohol abuse, he has had legal action taken against him twice already. He recently attempted suicide and is now hospitalized. We are currently pushing for him to be involuntarily committed to a mental health facility, however the Doctor’s say that at most it will only be a week of treatment. This is not the first time he has made an attempt on his life and has a history of violence towards others while intoxicated. Despite making numerous statements to police that he intends to hurt himself and others they are saying because he was intoxicated at the time they cannot use those statements as proof that he is a danger. We’ve exhausted every means to get him treatment we can and have been left with the only alternative of trying to get Power of Attorney over him so we can admit him to a facility to get help. We are first pursing voluntary PoA but what options are there for seeking involuntary PoA if any? Thank you.

A: Well, what you appear to actually want is not so much a Power of Attorney as a formal Guardianship.  See https://www.willicklawgroup.com/guardianship/.  These matters are always extremely fact specific, and I suggest you go over them, in detail, with a family law specialist.

 

Marshal S. Willick