[ExI] Basic Income - Basic Housing?

[BillK]

On Tue, Apr 8, 2014 at 5:40 PM, spike wrote:
> It hasn't changed entirely.  A person can still be committed against their
> will even if they haven't actually committed a crime.  If a person is
> showing signs of Alzheimer's for instance, we know that it is intermittent
> for a long time.  We know that AD patients can have a bad day and do
> terribly destructive things with their own finances for instance.  So when
> can the family decide this person is no longer competent to handle their own
> money?  What if the AD patient has an excellent head for business and made
> all the actual money, but the rest of the family is uniformly incompetent?
> At what point can that family step in, place the patient in a facility from
> which they are now incarcerated, and just take over the fortune?
>
> Put yourself into this situation.  Imagine you have money and you recognize
> your own ability to manage it is declining.  It is still your money.
> Imagine you have one child, married to someone you don't trust entirely
> perhaps, or your one offspring has known addictions.  Create your own
> scenario.  At what point do you lose legal authority over your own fortune,
> and at what point do you lose your freedom, all because you are growing
> forgetful?
>
> This is a legal gray area to this day.
>
> Someone offer moral guidance please.
>
>

The relevant documents are:

1. Declaration to Physicians (Living Will)
2. Power of Attorney for Health Care
3. Power of Attorney for Finance and Property
4. Authorization for Final Disposition

The law varies between states. The Wisconsin versions are here:
<http://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/forms/AdvDirectives/ADFormsPOA.htm>

3) is the one for allowing a trusted person to manage your affairs.
There are legal restrictions on what they are allowed to do.
e.g. They must act in your best interests and they are not allowed to
benefit themselves.
They are legally liable for any damages they cause.

However, this does not specify when someone is unable to manage their
affairs. Presumably two doctors have to  agree and probably convince a
judge as well.

BillK