She has recently taken his car from him with the help of his brother! They told him that his niece's name needed to be on his title so he could add his car to her insurance policy which includes her & her daughter and he is paying 75% of the insurance (he was denied insurance coverage due to several accidents and should not be driving). In this state, putting her name on the title is not required. When he was sent to memory care in assisted living, she took the car, claiming it is hers. She did not inquire about his health and did not visit him when he was hospitalized and then sent to memory care. She couldn't get the car fast enough. We've now been told the she has been visiting him and since then he is now asking for his billfold, all the papers and his debit card. Since memory care he did not ask for these until she was there to see him. His son is his POA who lives in another state.
Has anyone ever had a situation like this? How can we get the car back (which was to be sold to pay for some of his care. He bought the car she has no investment in it.
If so, he did it voluntarily and your course of action would be on the basis of exploitation of an elder's memory deficit and that he was not cognizant of his actions when he signed the title.
You'd have to ask the police where to go from there, i.e., whether they need a declaration of incompetency or what.
If he did not sign the title, the transfer is fraudulent. Police should be notified as well as the Secretary of State, or whatever agency handles title transfers.
If it was a fraudulent transfer, it should be voided or reversed. And the police I believe could recover the vehicle.
If the elder is in a dementia unit, he has no use for the car, so unless his son wants it, it could just be sold once the title issue is cleared, which seems to have been the original intention.
Before you contact the police, make sure there was no consideration (money) transferred from the niece or uncle to the elder in question. The title should show any consideration, unless transfer was a forgery.
There is no reason for the elder to continue paying any portion of the insurance premium. I doubt, however, he'll be able to get a refund unless he cancels the policy, which he can't do unless he's a named insured. I'm assuming that the niece is a named insured and her daughter is an additional insured.
I think Maggie's on the right track though. I suspect the elder didn't realize he was transferring title, or thought he was just giving the car to his niece. He may have thought that he'd be driving again and that's why he was paying 3/4 of the insurance premium.
I think you have some investigating to do before taking action. It would be embarrassing to get the police involved if the elder actually did sign the title.
Allegations won't suffice, especially on the issue of whether or not this elder actually agreed to and signed the title.
The Petition should indicate why the individuals to be restrained are a threat and what danger they pose to the elder.
You haven't mentioned your role in this situation. Is the elder your father, or are you an interested bystander?