Home > Research Legal Advice > Elder Law > How do we force my alcoholic brother to leave my dad's house? He verbal...
Asked 3 months ago - Houston, TX
FlagMy brother has been getting free room and board at my father's house for several years, in exchange for doing odd jobs around farm like mowing yard, mowing pasture, fixing fence, feeding livestock and pets, taking out trash, occasional cooking, other odd jobs. His work has progressively slacked off over the last two years. Work that he says he was doing, did not get done, including mowing a six acre pasture over the last year. The last three months he has only picked up some fallen limbs in the front yard, taken the trash out for pick up twice a week, and brought in the newspaper and mail most days. One and a half months of this time, my dad was in the hospital. Now he is home and requires someone dependable to care for him, shop, drive to appointments, and do chores.
It appears that your father owns the home. Your father would have to evict him.
You might want to call your local policing agency - police, constable, sheriff and talk to them.
If he's possibly violent you might want to warn them about him.
Also if your brother is abusing an elderly or disabled person, there is Adult Protective Services.
If your brother is a danger to himself or others, then there is HMHR - Harris Co. Mental Health and Mental Retardation. You can try to get him committed and assessed.
I hope this helps.
If your dad is very frail, then perhaps you need a guardianship over your dad. That requires court intervention.
You probably need to meet with an attorney that specializes in the elderly.
Good luck!
This is not a nursing home abuse question. As long as your parents have control over the property they can decide who lives there, unless the behavior of your brother becomes criminal. If you have POA for your father you could move to evict your brother, but this may cause your parent stress as well.
Good luck.
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