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[quote=Anonymous]Dear OP,

This is a miserable place to be. I’m glad you’ve found some of PP’s posts helpful. I hope the following thoughts also might be helpful.

1. Your mother is a free agent. She will do what she decides when she decides. There is nothing you can do to change that. You can provide options and suggestions but it is up to her whether to take them. The most powerful tool at your disposal is to leave her with the consequences of her own choices and not “help her out” in ways that enable poor decisions.

2. People get sued all the time, with and without grounds.  Sometimes insurance provides a defense and indemnification and sometimes the policy proves to be only an invitation to a coverage action in addition to the original claim. People get charged with crimes all the time too, and the “authorities” involved typically are immune from action even when the charges are even transparently groundless.

3. What, if anything, your mother can do to limit her potential exposure to suit on theories of neglect or along the lines of vicarious liability is a complex question best answered by a competent local attorney. This is not an area for dabblers, amateurs or off the cuff answers. Some of the well-meaning ideas that have been voiced could cut both ways — like trick locks to imprison an apparently still not in conservatorship adult, creating a fire hazard or more; treating all assets as “locked together” when they might not be; moving assets around (which could actually result in loss of protections); involving government agencies (who are blunt instruments in general), etc.  In this context, an elder lawyer doubtless can provide great assistance, but they probably are not the best source of advice on liability issues.

4. For me, the physical violence would be a pivot point. Your mother has no duty to hide in a “safe room,” and it is no good to have one once she’s already been assaulted. But if she can’t see this there’s not much you can do.

Best of luck in a bad place to be.

[/quote]

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