My father had to forceably remove my sister from his home after she physically abused him and was a danger to herself. he was issued a warrant for her removal and a protection order hearing. My sister was removed and 302'd to friends Hospital. S ...

Submitted by Stephen12 on

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My father had to forceably remove my sister from his home after she physically abused him and was a danger to herself. he was issued a warrant for her removal and a protection order hearing. My sister was removed and 302'd to friends Hospital. Subsequently, the hearing was held and my sister received the max 3 years. My father has asked me as his son and Power of Attorney to help him remove the personal belongings of my sister. At the hearing she promised to remove them within a month. She has since claimed she cannot take her furniture etc. can we set an ultimatim for removal and at that point assume ownership if she balks at the 2nd deadline. My father has spent more money than the value of the property in question in her behalf on debts, etc, and has thoughts of selling the property to recover his losses. Please advise.

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DakotaLegal's picture

 

Submitted by DakotaLegal on

 
Based on what you have said, your sister has gone from a 302 to either a 303 or a 304 commitment. Here’s a guide explaining those commitment proceedings: http://www.tshe althlaw.com/Printed_ Materials/ Mental_Health_Care_in_PA.pdf , especially at p. 16. This will be an important point, especially as time passes and she (hopefully) improves with treatment. Depending on how she has been confined (303 or 304), she may be out in a lot less than three years. Here’s a case showing that simply putting someone in custodial care is not enough…the person has to be a danger.  http://caselaw. lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=us&vol=422&invol=563. If that danger ends, and your father acts without any court authority to sell her property, you sister may actually have a legal claim against him or even possibly you.
 
She has several civil rights protections and guarantees under Pennsylvania law not to lose those rights. I’m also assuming there were no criminal charges filed against her, which might change her liability to any victim. Depending on your father’ s income, he might be able to get some low-cost legal help. You can try legal aid, and here’s a map to locate an office as close as possible to your father: http://www.palegalaid.net/ resou rces /clients/legalhelpfinder. Since you are essentially also acting to protect your sister’s interests in her possessions, you might be able to get help from Pennsylvania’s Protection and Advocacy network: http://www.icdri. org/legal/ Pennsylvania%20kPAD.htm. You can also reach the P&A in Harrisburg by calling 1-800-692-7443.
 
As a general rule, someone who has been held civilly incompetent may be sued only (a) after the incompetency ends or (b) a court determines there is no purpose to delay decisions.
 
 
Did The Court Appoint A Guardian For Your Sister?
 
It’s common for there to have been a lawyer appointed by the court in the 302 hearing. This is also a valuable resource for you to explore. Here’s a sample letter of appointment, along with what the order of guardianship looks like… https://www.palegalaid.net/sites /default/files /Petition%20for%20Appointment%20of%20Guardian%20Ad% 20Litem.pdf. It’s probably not a good idea to seek an appointment for your sister, of you or your dad, since you have plainly competing interests with your sister. In fact, it might be argued there is already an implied trust relationship over her property by your dad, and courts restrict the ability to sell a declared incompetent’s property: “Once the assets have been discovered and values determined, you are under a duty to provide for reasonable safeguarding of the assets to protect them from being dissipated, lost, stolen, or destroyed.” http://www.courts.phila.gov/pdf /orphans /Guardians -Manual.pdf
 
 
What About Just Selling The Property?
 
There is reason to worry about pursuing the legal options discussed above. They tend to cause delays, and may even cause extra costs to you and your dad. A lawyer for your sister’s interests would probably focus almost entirely on protecting your sister’s property from sale, or try to keep any assets from the sale of the property from being used to pay your father.
 
On the other hand, it is possible to argue in good faith that the property was simply abandoned. There may even have been a landlord/tenant relationship: did your sister pay (or was she supposed to) pay rent? Pennsylvania has specific laws about when to consider property abandoned. http://gpar.org/images/uploads/Summary%20of%20Abandoned% 20Property%20Bill%20Act%20129.pdf.

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DakotaLegal's picture

 

Submitted by DakotaLegal on

 
Based on what you have said, your sister has gone from a 302 to either a 303 or a 304 commitment. Here’s a guide explaining those commitment proceedings: http://www.tshe althlaw.com/Printed_ Materials/ Mental_Health_Care_in_PA.pdf , especially at p. 16. This will be an important point, especially as time passes and she (hopefully) improves with treatment. Depending on how she has been confined (303 or 304), she may be out in a lot less than three years. Here’s a case showing that simply putting someone in custodial care is not enough…the person has to be a danger.  http://caselaw. lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=us&vol=422&invol=563. If that danger ends, and your father acts without any court authority to sell her property, you sister may actually have a legal claim against him or even possibly you.
 
She has several civil rights protections and guarantees under Pennsylvania law not to lose those rights. I’m also assuming there were no criminal charges filed against her, which might change her liability to any victim. Depending on your father’ s income, he might be able to get some low-cost legal help. You can try legal aid, and here’s a map to locate an office as close as possible to your father: http://www.palegalaid.net/ resou rces /clients/legalhelpfinder. Since you are essentially also acting to protect your sister’s interests in her possessions, you might be able to get help from Pennsylvania’s Protection and Advocacy network: http://www.icdri. org/legal/ Pennsylvania%20kPAD.htm. You can also reach the P&A in Harrisburg by calling 1-800-692-7443.
 
As a general rule, someone who has been held civilly incompetent may be sued only (a) after the incompetency ends or (b) a court determines there is no purpose to delay decisions.
 
 
Did The Court Appoint A Guardian For Your Sister?
 
It’s common for there to have been a lawyer appointed by the court in the 302 hearing. This is also a valuable resource for you to explore. Here’s a sample letter of appointment, along with what the order of guardianship looks like… https://www.palegalaid.net/sites /default/files /Petition%20for%20Appointment%20of%20Guardian%20Ad% 20Litem.pdf. It’s probably not a good idea to seek an appointment for your sister, of you or your dad, since you have plainly competing interests with your sister. In fact, it might be argued there is already an implied trust relationship over her property by your dad, and courts restrict the ability to sell a declared incompetent’s property: “Once the assets have been discovered and values determined, you are under a duty to provide for reasonable safeguarding of the assets to protect them from being dissipated, lost, stolen, or destroyed.” http://www.courts.phila.gov/pdf /orphans /Guardians -Manual.pdf
 
 
What About Just Selling The Property?
 
There is reason to worry about pursuing the legal options discussed above. They tend to cause delays, and may even cause extra costs to you and your dad. A lawyer for your sister’s interests would probably focus almost entirely on protecting your sister’s property from sale, or try to keep any assets from the sale of the property from being used to pay your father.
 
On the other hand, it is possible to argue in good faith that the property was simply abandoned. There may even have been a landlord/tenant relationship: did your sister pay (or was she supposed to) pay rent? Pennsylvania has specific laws about when to consider property abandoned. http://gpar.org/images/uploads/Summary%20of%20Abandoned% 20Property%20Bill%20Act%20129.pdf.