Is there a way to assert financial or legal control over a parent in cognitive decline?
My father, 79, has been in a persistent state of cognitive decline since his second wife died about 3 years ago. Around that time, he started engaging with con artists he met on Ashley Madison.com, match.com, telegram, and other sites. Hai compulsive behavior led to his condo being foreclosed due to lack of HOA payments and to him becoming completely destitute. My sister and I were able to help him find housing but he continues to be susceptible to women purporting to want to marry him, some even going so far as to encourage him to try and travel internationally so they can get married.
We are concerned that he is a danger to himself, have tried to engage and reason with him, have tried to work with social services to get him care, but he refuses to get any sort of evaluation, diagnosis, or treatment. We don’t have power of attorney, and are unsure of what options we have to prevent him from harm.
Does anyone have any suggestions or experience in dealing with elder care issues that relate to compulsive or self destructive behavior? Are there any options we have apart from watching him degenerate further?