Family & Friends of Bipolar Support Group
This community is dedicated to parents, siblings, grandparents, other relatives and friends of someone who is Bipolar. The purpose of this community is to help families and friends develop greater patience and understanding, as well as maintain a positive, caring relationships with those diagnosed as Bipolar.
Hi, I did a quick search and couldn't find anything about legal questions or what needs to be done for power of attorney so sorry if this has been asked before.
I have a 33 year old son that has been hospitalized several time for manic episodes or the last 14 years. Since his divorce 5 years ago, the episodes have become more often. The last time he went into the hospital I had had several professionals tell me I need to become his power of attorney. I went to Office Max and found there are different types of power of attorney. General, Unlimited durable, and limited durable. Also there is a health care power of attorney.
My biggest concerned right now, is after his divorce he had been working steadily for 6 years and just had taken a second job. Somehow the x-wife was able to take his to Office of Recovery for child support and had $810 a month awarded to her. Unfortunately since his divorce, he can't hold down a job longer that 3 months. He has gone well over 6 months in between jobs almost every year. When he lost his first job after his divorce I went into ORS with him to get the paper work. I had assumed he followed through with the paper work and had the amount reduced but hadn't. Now (office of recovery) ORS claims he owes $16,000 in back child support. (I honestly don't think he has made more than $8,000 in the last five years) He loves his kids with all his heart and wants to provide for them, but he us unreal expectations since he has so many relapses. Since his divorce he lives with us and we provide his room, board, and help out as much as we can with her daughters, but it is eating into our retirement. He needs a fresh start with child support and tt was actually a young man at ORS that pushed me to go ahead and become his power of attorney.
Does anyone have suggestions on where I start. I would appreciate any suggestions.
I have a 33 year old son that has been hospitalized several time for manic episodes or the last 14 years. Since his divorce 5 years ago, the episodes have become more often. The last time he went into the hospital I had had several professionals tell me I need to become his power of attorney. I went to Office Max and found there are different types of power of attorney. General, Unlimited durable, and limited durable. Also there is a health care power of attorney.
My biggest concerned right now, is after his divorce he had been working steadily for 6 years and just had taken a second job. Somehow the x-wife was able to take his to Office of Recovery for child support and had $810 a month awarded to her. Unfortunately since his divorce, he can't hold down a job longer that 3 months. He has gone well over 6 months in between jobs almost every year. When he lost his first job after his divorce I went into ORS with him to get the paper work. I had assumed he followed through with the paper work and had the amount reduced but hadn't. Now (office of recovery) ORS claims he owes $16,000 in back child support. (I honestly don't think he has made more than $8,000 in the last five years) He loves his kids with all his heart and wants to provide for them, but he us unreal expectations since he has so many relapses. Since his divorce he lives with us and we provide his room, board, and help out as much as we can with her daughters, but it is eating into our retirement. He needs a fresh start with child support and tt was actually a young man at ORS that pushed me to go ahead and become his power of attorney.
Does anyone have suggestions on where I start. I would appreciate any suggestions.
You may not be able to get him out of the hot water he is in right now as far as the child support by just doing a power of attorney. If you are trying to say that he is not competent and thus should not be held responsible for the child support, that is a very complicated process, and MUST go through the courts, and can only be done with the help of doctor reports.
The other thing you need to be aware of is making sure that somehow you don't wind up legally responsible for his child support. You want to help him and the grandkids, and I applaud you for that, but it shouldn't be at the price of your reqtirement either.
You don't want him to lose the rights to his children, right? What you need is a lawyer to work out a compromise and settlement on the child support issue. If you become his conservator or obtain power of attorney, that may, depending upon the laws in your State, impact his rights as a parent. You need to be very very very careful.
If you don't already have lawyer handling things for your family, you can contact your local bar association and go through their lawyer referral service to find one. Typically, you can get an initial consultation for either a low fee or no fee, and I think it would be wise to get legal advice on what rights and risks each of you has.
I am sorry your family is dealing with this. I hope you are able to get the help you need. And I would not rely on what the ORS is telling you. Remember, their function is to get the money, not to protect your rights or your son's rights.
Hugs.....