Bonnie is in what state?
The last people /agencies you want to go to are Adult Protective Services ( APS) and social services.
Has your friend been to court?
Your friend has a right to an attorney and a right to refuse drugs. What does the husband say?

Bonnie,
Did this take place in New York? I am suprised.
There are some great attorneys in New York that may be able to help you.Have you spoken with your friend and asked her what she wants to do?
Because all in all she still has the right to make those decisions. If she wants the step daughter to have POA there is nothing anyone can do about her choice.Unfortunately that is still one of her rights. Is she still on the psycho tropic drugs you named or was that a breif duration, because if she is not on these drugs now, you should speak with her and see if she in fact wants any help. If she does you can contact an Elder abuse attorney or in New York a Geriatric specialist could also help. If she does not want the help then sadly your hands are tied.

The other thing you can do if she wants help is have an attorney go into the ward and have her sign a guardianship ( there is that dreaded word) over to you. That would in effect cancel the POA that the step daughter now has. It would cost too much money for the family to fight it.

Bonnie, what state are you in?
You could try filing a writ of habeaus corpus (in court) to free your friend. Have you contacted state senators?
Sounds like she really needs a lawyer.
Johnny

You might try writing the Attorney General and Governor. If your friend can speak up, she needs to speak out. There may be legal services for seniors in your area; she can place a call to them or bring a cell phone and maybe she can place a call to a new lawyer. She can change lawyers. There is an ombudsman who is supposed to represent the interests of the nursing home person.
Sorry for your troubles.
Johnny

For HELP with Guardianship/Conservatorship Abuse, please visit the website of the newly formed
National Association to Stop Guardian Abuse at

http://stopguardianabuse.org.

Raven West
aka Robin Cohen Westmiller

Very nice Raven!
Johnny

It has been over seven months since the County Conservators confiscated our property and they will not release the location of the left over personal property--personal photos, clothes, old tv, which is our inheritance. In fact, now the conservators are saying they will dispose and sell of the remaining property if we do not retrieve it. How can we have the property sent to us or get it picked up when the county refuses to tell us the location of the property? Because so much is likely missing or ruined from over seven months in a possibly contaminated basement, the county obviously, in our opinion, does not want us to have anything. They already sold our property and our relative's valuable property with no notice while she was alive. Other states seem to still have some ethics when it comes to guardianship scams. CA seems to look the other way. It is the wild west. Anyone still want to retire to Carmel, CA? Johnny

Dear MSI, Johnny, Raven West, Dotsie and any boomer interested,
My friend has gone back home and has in-home care. The first week she had around-the-clock caregivers; now it's down to 9-5 each day. I don't know what's going to happen here; but my friend wanted the situation kept hush, hush; my spouse won't let me hire legal backing or private investigators. So my hands are tied. I'm praying, nearly nonstop, for the my friend's protection and healing. Thank you for your help, moral support and understanding.
Prayers and blessings,
Brose

Thanks for the update. I hope she doesn't have to keep reducing the hours of her care. Why did it have to drop back to 9-5?