Some of you may recall some dairies that I wrote which I link here in which I requested the advise from this community on behalf of my sister who lives in San Antonio, Texas. I am in Wisconsin and I come again before you full of confidence asking for your help again. I got the request that I will put forth before you below from my sister over the phone yesterday.
The issue today is whether or not, there is legal case law in the books pertaining to my sister`s situation in dealing with her son Tony who is medically incapacitated to initiate and prosecute a divorce between Tony and his wife? Like most legal situations in our society, I have to think such law precedent must be out there somewhere and I would appreciate a citation or case number.
Before I request your assistance and/or opinions and before I make the meaning of this diary perfectly clear, I think it is only appropriate that I go into explaining why I seek this advise -- for those who for the first time read and learn about my nephew`s accident and what my sister has gone through as a result.
It has been eight months since my sister`s son Tony fell into a coma and has not awakened. Eight months ago back in February I wrote this diary and followed up the next day with this other diary and the advise this community unselfishly and compassionately gave for my sister through the comments section of my diaries will never be forgotten.
Tony is still alive but unresponsive. My sister insists that he blinks his eyes and I tell her it is good news, although personally ( and I won`t dare tell her), I feel the situation with Tony sounds bleak. My heart cries each time we talk about Tony and what she is going through.
Talking to her briefly on the telephone from my home in Milwaukee. She was in a haste to get to Tony`s bedside like she has done since the first day of the accident. She has not missed a day and she sounded exhausted, mentally and emotionally. Everyone of his siblings who in my linked diaries I described at first, appearing so supportive of my sister have now abandoned my sister and Tony. She now carries the pain alone.
I wrote this diary back on May 7th that depicts my sister having armed herself with power-of-attorney on behalf of Tony assuming that she could call all of the shots legally on how her son`s medical situations should be applied.
Much was discussed in the comments section about the legalities and the rights that my sister had or did not have pursuant to her contention of power-of-attorney as described in the documents she obtained notarized from a public notary at that time. All the issues that were discussed here are now moot where at the time the issue was whether or not Tony could had legally been kicked out of the hospital on short notice after brain surgery.
As noted, Tony was indeed transferred from the hospital to Casa Rio Health Care Rehabilitation where he currently is institutionalized. That is the place where my sister is obviously at his bedside as I write this.
I think that despite the mootness of the issues discussed above that pertained to the linked diary, there remains the issue of the power-of-attorney that arises with this new question I bring to you today. Bear with me as I try to explain my confusion as to the legitimacy and question of standing for my sister to prosecute Tony`s divorce.
To wit:
Tony and his wife had been separated for more than a year before he went into a coma. His wife, previously married at the time of Tony`s accident had returned to her previous husband and remained there, and was there when Tony went down.
With troubling mental disorders legally recorded by Psychiatrist`s diagnosis, and treatments which included her institutionalized periods in a mental ward the women injected herself into the decision making process of Tony`s care at the hospital over my sister`s objections.
As noted earlier in the linked diary, Tony was discharged from the hospital and taken to rehabilitation care at Casa Rio with his wife`s blessings. She signed the release order. My sister went bonkers over this.
Granted, I do not pretend to assume the wife, any wife loses the right to make medical decisions for her husband. Here however, my sister think Tony`s wife did not have that right and thinks their separation for a year and her decision to return to a former marriage should have disqualified her as having any further decision making over Tony. Her actions pursuant to separation period, mental condition among issues should had barred her from medical decisions over Tony.
As I noted above, my conversation with my sister was brief as she was in a haste to get to Tony`s bedside that morning. So obviously the reason for her questions baffles me as our conversation was short and no reason was mentioned.
However, by what I have learned from her. Tony`s wife is running a lot of troubling interfering situations for my sister to look after her son. She feels that a divorce is the only remedy remaining for Tony. She wants to know if she has standing to prosecute the required process of a divorce.
I would greatly appreciate anything you can give me so that I can relay it to her. Please link me to any case law or legal precedent that closely resembles my sister`s concerns.
Again, I will thank you from the bottom of my heart for my own and my sister`s sake.