Including an alcoholic in caregiving.

Question

I have a situation where a family has a 95 year old mother who needs to

not live by herself. They are suggesting that her granddaughter and two

children move in to the home along with the granddaughter's alcoholic

husband who has been physically abusive in the past. Does this come

under the umbrella of elder abuse? Thank you for any information on

this.

Answer

Has the husband been abusive to the grandmother, or

just to others? Will they be installed as legal

caregivers or are they simply moving in under the

implied condition that they help the grandmother?

Many states have requirements for legal caretakers,

some of which would be able to bar someone with a

history of abuse from assuming such a role. But, if

they are just moving in to help out, I'm not sure there

is any legal recourse that can be taken unless there

was a prior incident.

If there were, you could potentially file a restraining

order. I would speak with an attorney. Unfortunately, I

am not one.

The question