Need some advice re: sister in psychiatric hospital

Hello @AJ2

This is a difficult and complex situation you are in - is this a new thing or does your sister have an established psych disorder? Does she have a recognised carer? other supports?

I am not too familiar with availability of financial assistsnce but if your sister is an involuntary patient she will be entitled to free legal advice this will extend to "guardianship", this relates to management of her financial affairs, with her consent you could have a meeting with a solicitor to discuss this. To access her accounts you would either need her permission (bank has forms) or financial power of attorney. An application may need to be made to the guardianship board in relation to this. There is also her child and matters relating to them - there is their father too, the friends looking after the child.

If you work, with a certificate from the docs, you may be able to get some carer leave to have time to sort some of these things.

Darcy

Hello @AJ22

Welcome to the Forums and thanks for sharing a bit of your story. How are things going with your sister since you last posted?

As @Former-Member has said, it sounds like you have found yourself in a very difficult situation. Have you been able to access any legal advice to find out what your options are? You have possibly already done this, but one place to start might be with Legal Aid in your state. They will be able to explain the process of power of attorney.

I'm also wondering, do you have support for yourself while this is happening? It can be so exhausting to provide support for a loved one who is struggling with substance dependence and mental health concerns. It can be a huge help to talk things over with friends and family, or a professional counsellor. There are also a some carers organisations that can offer support, such as Carers Australia and Mental Health Carers Australia.

There are others here on the Forums who have supported family members through challenging times. You might like to read @Helpful_Hinder's post about their sister here.

I hope things are settling down a bit @AJ22. Please let us know how you're going 🙂

Thank you @Former-Member And @Former-Member

My sister is still in hospital. She's extremely paranoid and confused about things and just saying strange things. I just have to wait and see what happens at the moment and be there for her.

She does have a history of some mental health issues but nothing like this. It's all very new.

She ended up giving me her pin number so I have access to her account but theres not much in there. I think I'll be OK anyway. I spoke to her landlord and she did pay a bond. Worse case scenario he keeps her furniture etc as well.

I'm lucky because I have a really supportive manager and workplace. I've had to take a couple of days off to sort things out and they were fine with it. I think I might take a week of annual leave soon purely to relax. It is very stressful and consuming my mind 24/7. Im OK though.