Dear Annie: My elderly mother bought a house on the West Coast to be near my younger brother and me after my father passed away a few years ago. She had always relied on my father to handle finances and major life decisions, so it’s been a difficult adjustment for her to take on these responsibilities herself. Even though she purchased the new house over 18 months ago, she’s still living in her old home on the East Coast, which she hasn’t been able to sell due to my older brother’s severe hoarding problem.