[slharris9145]

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.

[blueoctober]

Hi slharris9145; sorry I don't have any advice for you and I'm not sure where you live, but you may want to look into local mental health organizations. They may have some suggestions. Another option would be to speak to a University Law department. Often you can speak to a student free of charge.

[sugahorse1]

Wow - that sounds like a terrible situation. But I am sure that no contract can be entered into if the other person is not fully aware of what they are signing. And the date of signature will coincide with the dates she was in hospital, which should render the contract null and void

[Anneinside]

Being in a mental hospital does not automatically make you incompetent to sign a legal agreement. If you were thinking clearly enough to seek out an attorney then you could also make a legal agreement. It doesn't matter that you lied about your assets. I think you'll find that you have to pay. If you go to court on it you'll be paying another attorney fee with no guarantee that the first fee will be dropped.

I know when I'm manic I can't just return things I buy because of it. You are always responsible for your actions.

[sugahorse1]

Yes, I also hear what Anneinside says. It will probably come down to what the psychiatrists caring for her at the time consider her emotional and intellectual state to have been

[wing]

I think what I would do is seek a free consultation. A lot of attorneys do that now, and if you have an agreement to not pay him unless you win, it may be a good deal all around. Did your mother's attorney actually perform any service for her? If so, she will be responsible for at least some of that payment. Unfortunately, I think it is one huge consequence of manic behavior that she will probably end up paying for either way you go, whether you win the case or not.

[PT52]

In order to fight an attorney, you probably should have an attorney of your own. If you are in the U.S., the BAR association will refer you to three attorneys in your area that specialize (in this case, I would guess it would be contractual law) and they are required to charge only a nominal fee for the first meeting. A verbal contract can be binding, but there is also the consideration of the attorney being able to unduly influence your mother's decision to enter into the contract because he is considered an expert and your mother less knowledgeable. You wouldn't have to prove she was mentally incapable of making that decision, simply that he used his position to coerce her to sign a contract that wasn't in her best interest.

Of course, that only comes from a business law course in college and having a brother who's a lawyer, so definitely get the opinion of a real attorney! Good luck.