I ask this question, because it relates to an issue that has arisen recently within my family and I am uncertain as to what course of action to take to ensure that the person involved is being treated fairly and honestly.

My cousin, a spinster in her mid-fifties, who lives alone, usually visits my family about four times a year. She last visited at Christmas, but we had not heard from her since and were becoming rather concerned about her.

Consequently, my wife telephoned her and found that my cousin's conversation was laboured and she had difficulty explaining herself, but overall she was able to make some sense of what was being said.

My cousin explained that she had not been well and had difficulty remembering things. She also stated that she thought that my brother and his wife were after her money and that he had the deeds of her house. She said she would like to find an attorney to deal with her affairs. Could my wife and I help her to do that? She said she could no longer drive (even though she had only recently purchased a new car). We said that we would telephone her to arrange a suitable time for us to collect her to have dinner with us at our house.

When we attempted to phone back later to suggest a suitable day for her to visit us, we found that our telephone number had been blocked and we were not able to communicate with her. (This would have been done by my brother and his wife, preventing her from speaking to us.)

Shortly afterwards we received through the post a simple letter from my cousin. Although the sense was a little confused, it was clear that she still wanted to come to our house as planned.

Unable to communicate directly via our home telephone line, we then chose to use a mobile phone, in the hope that the call would not be blocked. It wasn't and we were able to speak to her. An arrangement was made for the visit, which cheered her considerably. We also asked if she would like a close friend of hers to come for lunch. She thought that this would be a good idea and gave us the telephone number of her friend.

Shortly afterwards, the call, which had been of an amicable nature, was terminated when my sister-in-law snatched the phone off her and demanded to know to whom she was speaking and then insisted on the telephone being put down.

When we phoned my cousin's friend to invite her to attend also, she explained that my sister-in-law had notified her that my cousin had Alzheimer's. This came as a surprise, as my brother and his wife had made no attempt to let my wife and I know about this.

My wife and I called to collect my cousin at the pre-determined time, but there was no response. A lot of improvements were evident to the exterior of the house, which surprised us, because although well-off, my cousin has always been frugal in terms of expenditure. Also the house looked like it had been re-furnished and as though someone else had taken possession of the property and moved in.

I suspect from all this that my cousin is being cared for by my brother and his wife. It is most unlikely that she is aware of what has happened to her house, or that the plan is probably that she will never return to it again. No reference was made by my cousin to any outside agencies communicating with her or helping her through her ordeal. I am of the impression that she really needs to talk to someone about what is happening to her and that there is a distinct probability that she is being financially exploited by those caring for her.

As stated at the beginning, I am unsure about how to deal with this matter. It is clear from the fact that my brother and his wife never let me know about my cousin and her condition that they wish to keep this knowledge from me for their own purposes. They are also denying my cousin contact with those who might support or help her for the same reasons.

If I try to do something about this, then it could be construed that there is a financial motivation, so I am therefore hesistant to get involved.

Can anyone suggest a means by which a third party may be able to get involved in order to ensure that my cousin is being treated fairly and with dignity and respect?

Alternatively, is there any other course of action that might be taken?