My Son Drugged Me And Committed Me To A Nursing Home To Steal My $850k House. He Told Everyone I Had Dementia, But I Am An Aerospace Engineer And I Remember Everything. How Do I Take Him Down?
“This facility is excellent.”
“You’re safe here.”
He said.
“Vanessa and I are getting married next month and we want you to be there.”
“But you need to focus on getting better.”
Marcus added.
“Getting better from an illness I don’t have.”
I replied.
Vanessa’s smile tightened.
“Mr. Patterson, I know this is difficult, but Marcus is doing what’s best for you.”
“Fighting him will only make things worse.”
She said.
The Independent Evaluation
After they left, I knew this wasn’t about my health. This was about my house. When Helen arrived that afternoon with her grandson Brad, a patient advocate, I told them everything.
Brad recorded it all on his phone.
“Mr. Patterson, I’m going to arrange for an independent medical evaluation.”
“If you’re cognitively sound, and you certainly seem to be, then there’s a strong case for fraud here.”
“But first, we need to document your baseline mental state.”
Brad said.
The evaluation happened two days later. Doctor Patricia Wells, a geriatric psychiatrist, spent three hours with me. She did memory tests, cognitive assessments, and psychological screening.
At the end, she closed her notebook.
“Mr. Patterson, you score in the 95th percentile for your age group.”
“You have no signs of dementia, no cognitive impairment, and no memory loss beyond what would be expected from being heavily sedated.”
The doctor said.
“Someone gave you benzodiazepines, probably over several days, and then had you committed here.”
“This is medical fraud.”
She explained.
“Can you help me?”
I asked.
“I can testify, but you need a lawyer.”
“A good one.”
Dr. Wells answered.
Helen’s grandson knew someone, Thomas Brennan, a lawyer who specialized in elder abuse cases. He came to the nursing home that evening, a man in his 50s with gray hair and tired eyes that had seen too much.
“Mr. Patterson, tell me everything.”
He said.
I did. He took notes, asked questions, and made phone calls. By the end of the conversation, he was angry.
“This is more common than you’d think.”
“Adult children with financial problems, a parent with valuable assets, a corrupt doctor willing to sign off on dementia paperwork.”
Brennan said.
“The nursing home is probably innocent.”
“They take patients in good faith based on medical documentation.”
“But your son and this Dr. Patterson, they committed fraud.”
He added.
“What can we do?”
I asked.
“First, we get you released.”
“Dr. Wells’s evaluation should be enough.”
“Second, we file for an emergency restraining order preventing Marcus from accessing any remaining assets.”
“Third, we start building a criminal case.”
“Fourth, we go after the house.”
The lawyer answered.
“If the sale was based on fraudulent power of attorney, it can be reversed.”
Brennan added.
He checked his notes.
“Who bought the house?”
He asked.
“An LLC: Palmer Properties Management.”
He said.
“Want to bet who owns that LLC?”
Brennan asked.
I didn’t need to bet.
“Vanessa.”
“Real estate agent, right?”
“Probably saw your house, saw an opportunity, manipulated your son into thinking this was a good idea.”
“Or maybe she was the mastermind all along.”
Brennan said.
Freedom and Confrontation
Within 48 hours, Dr. Wells submitted her evaluation to the facility’s medical director. They released me immediately apologizing profusely. They’d had no idea.
The paperwork looked legitimate. Brennan filed an emergency petition with the court. The hearing was set for three days later.
Marcus called me that evening. I was back at Helen’s house. I couldn’t go home because it wasn’t mine anymore.
And I almost didn’t answer.
“Dad, what are you doing?”
“The facility called.”
“You’re not well enough to leave.”
Marcus said.
“I’m perfectly well, Marcus.”
“I had an independent evaluation.”
“I’m cognitively sound.”
I replied.
“That’s not what Dr. Patterson said.”
Marcus answered.
“Dr. Patterson, who isn’t my regular doctor, who I’ve never seen before, who somehow diagnosed me with dementia after one visit?”
“That Dr. Patterson?”
I asked.
There was silence.
“Marcus, did you sell my house?”
I asked again.
