Selling the car

What was going on three years ago, in August 2004? Under Arkansas guardianship laws, I can’t sell so much as a toothpick from my mother’s assets without a court order. Thus, in dire need of money to support my mother, I filed a petition with the court to sell a few things – my mother’s car, her lots in Hot Springs, and her coin collection. The petition was granted around the end of the month. What I really wanted to do was sell her house, but my lawyer feared the judge would deny such a request at this stage.

As guardian, I had the authority to stop Mother from driving and did so without delay. Her car lived at my sister’s house in Benton once we confiscated it. Mother has forgotten many things in the past three years, but not the loss of her car. Three years later, she is still furious and tries to access her assets so she can buy another one.

Incredibly, she managed to renew her driver’s license last year. I don’t know how she did it, but she convinced Bill’s son to to take her to the DMV to renew it. What she hasn’t figured out yet, is that the license has been removed from her purse. We won’t tell her who did it, right?

Sadly, there is no way to stop a person with dementia from renewing a driver’s license in Arkansas, no safeguards at all. All she had to do was pass a vision test – I doubt that she could have passed the written test, but it is not required for renewal. If she could get her hands on a car, she would probably kill someone. Check out the way the California DMV deals with drivers with dementia. More states should pay attention.

The car was easy to sell. I sold it to a friend who loves it and still drives it – a 1998 silver gray Volvo.