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My grandparents are both suffering from dementia. My grandpa is calling people that have asked my family to have him stop calling. We have tried restricting incoming and outgoing calls. My question is, do my grandparents have legal rights to have a phone in their home? They have 24 hour care which each caregiver has a cell phone, so emergency calls are not an issue. I can't find anything online. Please help.


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This is the family problem. Do not take grandpa's phone away, relatives need to just deal with it and appreciate the fact he can still use a phone. That will not always be the case.

Replace with a cell phone? NO! He would not be able to figure out how to use it. He needs his phone, your screwy and grumpy relatives need to turnoff their bells, ignore the calls. Just get over it and be happy the grandpa loves them and wants to keep in touch. He NEEDS his phone for his safety and wellbeing.
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Cakescare Aug 2018
It's not relatives he is calling. He calls 911 multiple times a day. He is calling friends of his telling them he is being held hostage. Telling his friends that he is being restricted from things he is allowed to do. Things he does on a daily basis. His friends are calling APS as well as the attorney that set up his trust, who then calls POA which is a $200 phone call. He is risking his own freedom by these actions. At some point he is going to be removed from the house. My grandma who also suffers from dementia will suffer because of his absence. She is extremely codependent when it comes to him. They spent years preparing for the elderly years. They made a very well thought out truth and will only to be thrown into where he always wanted to avoid. He is a brilliant man which has been shown to be a blessing and a curse
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There is no legal right to have a telephone, unplug the phone and tell him there is a service interruption and you're working on it.
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Who has POA. Have them call the phone service and have phone shut off. Tell Gpa something is wrong with the line. You will look into it. If he has Dementia he will forget what you have said so just keep repeating, you will look into it.

I am sorry, but I wouldn't appreciate constant calls from someone who can't hold a conversation or talking about something that happened years ago and has nothing to do with me. Not all people know how to deal with Dementia.

Make sure that you eventually remove the phones. Maybe a little white lie saying your going to see if they are the trouble. Out of sight, out of mind.
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how does grandpa remember these people's phone numbers? If he has the numbers written down or preprogrammed in phone have them removed.

Take away phone book or little personal phone books. If he has dementia he soon won't be able recall these numbers
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His dementia I something I have never seen or dealt with. I have been a care take since 03 but his cognitive decline is obviously to those who spend a lot of time with him. He remembers numbers and names, but he doesn't remember who and what he said. He is manipulating, deceitful and still has just enough wit about him to be trouble. My aunt is the POA. He is rude and disrespectful to her as well as her husband who is the son on my grandpa. Grandpa had a friend call his lawyer to tell her he is being abused, held hostage and doesn't have any rights. He is a control freak and its only getting worse. He refuses to acknowledge his diagnosis because he doesn't remember the dr telling him. I explained to him that he doesn't remember because of his decline due to dementia. We had the phones ported to a cell phone in my aunts control. All he did was talk bout the phone all day long.
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You should probably look up state specific laws because in some states, you can’t just come in and lawfully take away a phone, obstruct the use of it or cause damage to it. In California the law applies to both landlines and cell phones.
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If I were receiving repeated unwanted calls I would block the caller's number on my end...not call the family.
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