Protecting an elderly person from his/herself -- Not an easy task

In Of Principals and POAs: Protecting the Elderly from Themselves, 95 Ill. B.J. 580 (2007), Helen W. Gunnarsson discusses the problems which may arise when a "good" agent wants to protect an "unwilling" principal.

Here are some excerpts from this most interesting article:

Most lawyers know what it is to serve clients afflicted with dementia. If they don't, they surely know or have known a family member or friend who is such a client.

Lawyers can ameliorate some of the anguish that accompanies the onset and progression of dementia. They can help impaired individuals and concerned family members make wise decisions that will improve the remainder of the impaired individuals' lives and preserve more of their estates for their heirs or beneficiaries.

By itself, though, existing law may not be able to provide a perfect solution for the impaired person who's in the hazy no-man's-land between "sharp as a tack" and incompetent - perhaps sharp one day, or one minute, and incompetent the next. How effective an instrument can and should the law be for protecting someone like that from himself?

Through the use of a compelling hypothetical situation, Ms. Gunnarsson demonstrates the problems that arise and how the law is not well-suited to solving them.