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You could investigate the possibility of becoming his Power of Attorney if he agrees. Your brother's doctor may need to be involved to determine if he is competent to handle his financial affairs.
What do you mean by "slow"? What is the medical opinion on him/his condition (if any)? If he has not been assessed and a determination made that he is in any way mentally handicapped in incapable of handling his own (financial or other) affairs then surely there is nothing that anybody else can legally do to circumscribe his actions?A member if my family (my brother in his 20s) is slightly "slow" but not in a very noticeable way, unless you know him well.
.... If he has not been assessed and a determination made that he is in any way mentally handicapped in incapable of handling his own (financial or other) affairs then surely there is nothing that anybody else can legally do to circumscribe his actions?
Did you get his permission to do this? Has he asked you for assistance/advice?on looking through his bank & credit card statements, I can now see why.
Well intentioned and as all the original poster presumably is this case points up some pretty serious/fundamental personal privacy and civil liberties issues in my opinion. If I decided to go mad tomorrow and blow my money and incur a load of debt then I can't see what it has to do with anybody else, least of all my siblings.
I fundamentally disagree - unless it involves individuals who have been assessed by the relevant medical or psychiatric professionals and clearly determined to be incapable of looking after themselves or their affairs (in part or full).I can see where you are coming from but family members have a duty to look out for each other.
A "bit slow" doesn't necessarily mean "insane"!One has to be of sane mind to enter into a contract...
I completely disagree that people should be able to circumscribe the activities of others (e.g. their siblings) if they have subjectively decided that they are "a bit slow" or "less streetwise than average".Especially when the individual is less streetwise than the average person for whatever reason.
Not necessarily. There isn't enough detailed information (e.g. about the brother's condition - if any) to say at the moment.I admire this person for trying to help their brother, as I'm sure you do too. I don't think privacy rules should block these efforts.
No - grown adults who have not otherwise been deemed through medical/psychological assessment to be incapable of looking after their own affairs should be free to act of their own free will even if it means getting into debt or doing other things that siblings and others might not like.Clubman,
I hope that you are playing devil's advocate with the "none of anyone else's business".
That really depends on whether the brother has actually been deemed to be incapable of looking after his own affairs and has given others permission to look at his private correspondence etc. If not then far from being commendable it is totally objectionable and possibly illegal.The fact that the OP is looking out for the best interest of their brother and is looking for advice before taking any steps is to be commended.
Clubman,
I hope that you are playing devil's advocate with the "none of anyone else's business". The fact is that most things that we do impact on other people. The fact is that if the OP's brother ended up out on the street due to debts...most people would expect the family to help that person and would be surprised if they did not.
The fact that the OP is looking out for the best interest of their brother and is looking for advice before taking any steps is to be commended.
My bank manager contacted me once about a small student loan my brother had defaulted on...not to get payment, just out of concern about credit ratings etc.
Em, I may be wrong here but unless you were guarantor on your brother's loan your bank manager was in no way entitled to contact you about it and that is a serious breach of confidentiality.
However, he has now discovered the joys of overdrafts, credit cards and bank loans, without fully understanding that he has to repay them at some stage
If I decided to go mad tomorrow and blow my money and incur a load of debt then I can't see what it has to do with anybody else, least of all my siblings.
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