Linked: “How the Elderly Lose Their Rights”

via The New Yorker:

She knocked on the front door several times and then tried to push the door open, but it was locked. She was surprised to see the kitchen window closed; her parents always left it slightly open. She drove to the Sun City Aliante clubhouse, where her parents sometimes drank coffee. When she couldn’t find them there, she thought that perhaps they had gone on an errand together—the farthest they usually drove was to Costco. But, when she returned to the house, it was still empty.


That weekend, she called her parents several times. She also called two hospitals to see if they had been in an accident. She called their landlord, too, and he agreed to visit the house. He reported that there were no signs of them. She told her husband, “I think someone kidnapped my parents.”


On the Tuesday after Labor Day, she drove to the house again and found a note taped to the door: “In case of emergency, contact guardian April Parks.” Belshe dialled the number. Parks, who had a brisk, girlish way of speaking, told Belshe that her parents had been taken to Lakeview Terrace, an assisted-living facility in Boulder City, nine miles from the Arizona border. She assured Belshe that the staff there would take care of all their needs.


“You can’t just walk into somebody’s home and take them!” Belshe told her.


Parks responded calmly, “It’s legal. It’s legal.”

Take 20 minutes to read this one and try your best not to become head over heels infuriated by this bull-shit allowed by our legal system. Then, if your parents are above 60, meet with an estate planner and get everything in writing so this don’t happen to you.

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