Thai Wife has Alzheimer's disease, need legal guardianship

[sometimewoodworker]

My Swedish friends Thai/Swedish wife has a pretty severe case of Alzheimer's disease, it has progressed far enough that she has extreme difficulty in writing. He feels that he or his 1/2 Thai daughter should become her legal guardian before she can no longer even walk so they can deal with both the Thai and Swedish authorities.

 

He would like to know who he should contact to start the process (talk to a lawyer replies are not helpful) of course he will need a medical assessment of her condition, but the details of that will probably be set by the relevant Thai authority.

 

Thanks for assistance 

 

to the moderator. If there is a more appropriate forum please move this. Thanks

Edited November 17, 2018 by sometimewoodworker

[Korat88]

First off I am sorry about the sad news. I wish the situation were different for your friends. I cannot really help but perhaps it is worth contacting:

 

1) http://thaidementia.org/index.php?lang=en

2) https://www.swedenabroad.se/en/embassies/thailand-bangkok/contact/

 

They may be able to offer some assistance. Also worth asking on this forum: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/forum/23-health-and-medicine/

 

I hope you can find some help and wish your Swedish/Thai friends the best possible outcomes.

[Sheryl]

I take it they currently live in Thailand?

 

It is not usual in Thailand to go through formal proceedings to declare someone mentally incompetant, doctors, police etc will usually listen to the family with regard to any decisions if it is apparent the person in question is deranged or impaired. hence I do nto know what the legal process  for this would be, and I also am nto sure it would make much difference to anything. But for what it is worth I am moving this to the Family forum where there may be some with relevant experience.

 

What they definitely can do, is have her sign  a power of attorney now while she still can, giving husband and/or daughter authority to manage her financial affairs and make health decisions for her etc. This, any lawyer can draw up. So I suggest rather than asking lawyers about legal guardianship for an adult (a very unusual thing in Thailand) they just ask a lawyer to draw up a POA.

[sometimewoodworker]

18 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

It is not usual in Thailand to go through formal proceedings to declare someone mentally incompetant, doctors, police etc will usually listen to the family with regard to any decisions if it is apparent the person in question is deranged or impaired. hence I do nto know what the legal process  for this would be, and I also am nto sure it would make much difference to anything. But for what it is worth I am moving this to the Family forum where there may be some with relevant experience.

They are in Thailand at the moment, part of the reason to see if there is a procedure in Thailand is it would quite possibly avoid the need for something like that in Sweden where the system is rather more regimented then here. 

 

Fortunately when renewing her Swedish passport the official did not require her to do more than complete the given name part of her signature as she spent almost 5 minutes on about 6 letters and he could see that the full signature would be virtually impossible for her. This is also why a power of attorney is probably also impossible as she could never sign it and certainly is not mentally competent to give one. 

 

I'll pass on the links given, thanks

[connda]

In case you're interested.  There have been advancements in cognitive research and clinical approaches to treatment of cognitive decline that simply were not thought of a decade ago.  This includes reversing Alzheimer's.  It's being done, now. 
https://www.foundmyfitness.com/episodes/dale-bredesen

 

Edited November 18, 2018 by connda

[Small Joke]

If youre in Northern Thailand, Lanna Lawyers in Chiang Mai have two well regarded foreign partners, who may be able to help with legal matters.

[happylarry]

I have just talked with my wife about this and she says that they should go to court to get the ruling that the husband or daughter can manage the wife’s affairs. This cannot be done without using a lawyer of course.

Also to answer your other question if the wife cannot sign her name for a power of attorney then a finger print will suffice providing they have a witness to this act.

Hope this helps.

HL

[sometimewoodworker]

11 minutes ago, happylarry said:

I have just talked with my wife about this and she says that they should go to court to get the ruling that the husband or daughter can manage the wife’s affairs. This cannot be done without using a lawyer of course.

Also to answer your other question if the wife cannot sign her name for a power of attorney then a finger print will suffice providing they have a witness to this act.

Hope this helps.

HL

Thanks for that I'll pass that on as well.

my comments regarding lawyers was not that they wouldn't use one if needed but to stave off the "talk to a lawyer" comment. 

I have heard that some family courts can be positively friendly.

[Lokie]

Just been through this back in the UK for my mum, have now via UK Govt site arranged two LPAs (Legal Power of Attorney)  drawn up - one LPA is for health issues and the other for financial affairs on her behalf. My mum aged 89 has had alzheimer's for several years but over last few she has started to deteriorate.

 

We have for the last year been adding virgin coconut oil to her diet (2/3 teaspoons per day) and it really has slowed the deterioration down and improved her as if giving her back more time with it. We now have both an LPA and a Deputy LPA under UK law, these are recorded with UK Govt on record and copies issued to relevant parties.

 

We all know about having a Will (for our affairs upon death) but also we should really think about if we ever end up unable to make choices for ourselves - not just alzheimer's but other illnesses etc that could render us helpless, so really we should arrange LPAs to cover the event (is not you who needs it, it can save your loved ones going through a nightmare to ensure your care/wishes are carried out) releasing money for medical care etc or paying bills that are due