Lisle, Ill (CBS) – This is a cautionary tale for those with elderly and generous parents.
A man in Lisle said his father donated thousands to a military academy in Wisconsin and now the son wants it to be returned.
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Why? Doctors say his father has dementia and needs financial monitoring.
But CBS 2 Morning Insider Tim McNichols showed us Thursday how it can lead to tricky legal territory.
“And that’s it, I love this picture,” said George Hillier.
The memories are important to Hillier and his family. His mother suffers from Alzheimer’s and his father has dementia.
“He talks about a student he had in his 20s and then the next part, he won’t remember what he had for breakfast that day,” Hillier said.
Last year, his father told him he had recently donated to St. John’s Northwestern Military Academy in Wisconsin, where he worked.
At the time, George says he suspected his father’s health was deteriorating, but did not know he had dementia.
“He said, ‘Good son,’ and there was a pause,” Hillier said. “He said, ‘Son, it’s easy to do when you have $63 million in the bank.
He says his father has nowhere near $63 million.
“I laughed and thought he was kidding me,” Hillier said. “But then very soon, I realized he was seriously dead.”
That’s when Hillier began to pay attention to his father’s health and learned from a family doctor that his father had dementia.
He began to worry more about his father’s finances. Turns out, his father donated at least $16,000 to the school over the course of several months.
Hillier believes that his father may have intended to give a few thousand, but for the rest?
“They should return to us so that I can use them for care,” he said.
But in the eyes of St. John’s, it is not that simple.
The emails show a back and forth between George’s lawyers and the school’s attorneys regarding medical and legal documents.
In April of this year, Hillier’s lawyer sent a letter from a doctor saying his father had dementia and “required inspection for financial matters.”
But the school’s lawyer said for a refund, they would need more documentation. A spokesman for the school said they were “still considering” the family’s request.
They said they cannot go into details as the matter pertains to complex legal and medical issues.
“I hope they look at this story and think ‘Wow, we’re making a big mistake here with the Hilliers,'” he said.
Hillier says he moved his parents to a memory care facility earlier this year.
“They’ve had a great life together,” he said.
St John’s says that once they have the additional documents they request, they can move towards a resolution. They say that both George Hillier’s parents are dear to his academy, and they want to make sure all the right moves are made:
“In response to your enquiry, we are in correspondence with the family and are still in the process of considering their request. Our lawyers have requested additional documents which, once received, will give us the ability to proceed with a satisfactory resolution. We recognize the sensitive nature of this matter, given the complex medical and legal issues, and are therefore working to ensure that appropriate steps are taken. George and Janemarie Hillier were beloved during their long tenures as teachers at our Academy and will be admired by all of our faculty, staff and alumni for their selfless dedication that will resonate through their alumni for years to come .
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