My sister and I filed a petition to have our mother committed to the hospital back in July. She had been in a very lengthy manic phase. The Judge signed the petition, she was admitted but the same Judge released her 6 days later. No overt act. During her 6 days in the hospital she "hired" an attorney even though she had a court-appointed attorney. Long story short, the attorney sent her a bill for $5000.00 and placed a lien on my mothers home. My sister filed a complaint with the BAR Association. The attorney responded and my sister is about to send our response to his response. He lied in his response, which can be proved if the BAR will request the transcripts from the hearing. My question is, How is it possible for a contract to be legal and binding if the person is currently a patient on the Mental Health Unit? I don't think this nightmare will ever end. My mother is currently very depressed. She claims she doesn't remember most of her hospital stay or the court hearing. She said she hired the attorney because she was afraid of going to he state hospital. She said she told her attorney she had $5000 to pay him, she admitted that she lied to him. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.