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I live in one state, and my sister lives in another. I live in the same state my mother has lived in for decades, and more than two years ago we had to move in with my mother because she couldn't live by herself any longer (dementia) and we couldn't afford any place else for her. I have complete power of attorney. However, a place has opened up that is (just barely) affordable in the state my sister lives in. Could we give my sister power of attorney in that state? It might be a bit more limited than mine, but it could make it so much easier for her to operate. However, I don't want MINE to be revoked because I handle most of her taxes, paperwork, etc. Is this possible? I have heard about there being joint Powers of Attorney (where they have to act in concert), but that is not what I'm talking about here. Does anybody know?

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No, your mother gave you POA and she is the only one who can change it to your sister if your mother is still competent. A POA is not something that you, as the agent, can just give someone. Your sister could be POA only if she is mentioned on the POA as secondary in which case you would say to the lawyer and to her that you can no longer be your mom's POA for whatever reason. However, it does not sound like you want to give your POA up.
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What you are talking about is a POA that is help "jointly and severally", basically that means you can work together or separately. People with dementia can sign legal documents in the early stages IF they understand what they are doing at the time, a reputable lawyer is going to want to interview her to determine that.
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Thank you. It sounds like we need another POA that will grant us power to act "jointly and severally." Yes, my mother is capable still of understanding what she is signing (although she won't remember signing it 10 minutes later). This is tough to take care of in different states, however.
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Katannsed, the prior replies were good, but you may have more options. (Disclaimer: My experience with DPOAs is limited to Utah and Idaho.) Most of the DPOAs my dad signed eight years ago while living in Utah were simple, one-page forms that named three, four and five of his eight children as having both financial and health care POA with our names separated with "or" (i.e. we were not "joint and several" POAs). These DPOAs were properly notarized, but were accomplished without an attorney. This worked fine for a couple of years, until it didn't. A couple of years after my dad signed his last such joint "or" DPOA, one of my sisters, unbeknownst to me, had an attorney create a trust, made herself trustee, and had my dad sign a new financial DPOA naming just herself and also a new health care DPOA naming another sister and reoking all prior health care DPOAs. Oddly, and probably mistakenly, the financial DPOA did not revoke prior DPOAs, so, after I moved him into my home four years ago, I was able to legally continue using his older Utah DPOA to open Idaho bank accounts for him and otherwise manage his finances in both Utah and Idaho. At least in these two states, DPOA authority seems to not be limited to the state in which the DPOA was signed or where the signee or the POA lives. Most importantly, there can be more than one legitimate DPOA document if a prior one was not revoked. Obviously, it could get messy, especially if the POAs do not work well with each other, and that's why DPOAs usually revoke prior DPOAs.

So, if your mother is still competent enough to sign a DPOA, I think you may have two options: 1) have her sign a new DPOA for your sister to have whatever authority she needs to oversee your mother's care in her state without revoking the DPOA you already have, or 2) have your mother sign a new DPOA that revokes the old DPOA and names you and your sister jointly, or alternatively, you or your sister separately.

If your mother is not competent to sign a new DPOA, then you and your sister could work together with just your DPOA authority, but if that is unworkable for whatever reason, then I think guardianship and conservatorship may be your last option. And, yes, there can also be more than one guardian and/or more than one conservator, although in your case it sounds like a better fit might be for you to be conservator and your sister be guardian, while you continue to work together taking care of your mother. (Disclaimer: My experience with guardianship and conservatorship is limited to just Idaho.)
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bicycler, excellent point about what could happen having only an one page Power of Attorney, and not using an Attorney.

katannsed, as for having your Sister also be Power of Attorney, that could work if you have "Elder Law Attorneys" working in tandem. Sounds like you want your sister and you to have equal access POA for both Medical and financial. Or your Mom can elect just your sister as Medical, and you as Financial. Thankfully your Mom can still understand what she is signing.

Many States accept the Power of Attorneys written in other States, some States do not due to different State Laws.

My own Power of Attorney is 17 pages as I had an "Elder Law Attorney" draw up the POA, plus other legal documents that would greatly help the family through this maze.

It would be good to have Mom get a Medical Directive which would help guide your sister with the medical issues as to what Mom wants done for her care. My parents had such a Directive and I was so grateful they had this drawn up.... great guideline for me to use. I also have a Directive for my own self.
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One clarification: The 8-page DPOA that my sister got from the trustee attorney was the one that failed to revoke the prior 1-page DPOAs, which in my case was fortunate because it allowed me to continue using the 1-page DPOA to manage my dad's care and finances after I moved him to my state. But I think freqflyer's point is good that when more than one person is named as POA, it should be done carefully and a good elder-law attorney will have good advice and can make things easier. I don't see any need to get two attorneys involved for one or more DPOAs, unless the multiple people with POA have conflicting views and/or history, but then guardianship and conservatorship (G&C) might be the better solution anyway -- things can get messy quickly for a variety of reasons and at least with G&C there is ongoing court oversight to protect the vulnerable individual.
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My sister lives in Texas and my dad lives in Oklahoma near me. She and I share POA and medical POA. It’s been invaluable for both of us to have it. This way we can both be involved when one handles a medical issue and the other does something with finances and visa versa. Luckily we both are on the same page and bounce things off each other. We both attend dad's care conferences over the phone.
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I missed this post or would have responded earlier.

It is in fact possible for someone to authorize another to act as proxy, IF the document provides that authorization. I was surprised when I reread my father's recently to realize that even though my sister and I were designated, we had that authority to assign to or bring another individual in to help us manage our responsibilities.

Katannset, if you're still around, read the document carefully to see if you have that kind of authority.

My attorney was way ahead of me when she prepared it over a decade ago.
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Elder Attorney to see if you can "share" POA with your sister.

Like Harpcat - sharing the burden makes it half a burden.
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harpcat, was an attorney involved in drawing up your poa?
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Too many comments to read them all but just want to say how I feel. I blame my Mother for me being the "one" who had all the responsibility for her care. As the oldest, it was always me. The babysitter of the other 3. The chauffer because she didn't drive. The one she volunteered. The one for all the hospital visits and doctors across the bridge that neither could drive to. My sister was never made to do her share. She was lazy. My brothers were "boys". She never once relied on them to give me a break. I don't think it ever crossed her mind because I never said no. Then I retired. For 18 months I watched a Gson. Then a hospital visit happened and Mom could no longer leave alone so she came here. At 65 I just didn't have the strength to do it all. One brother lives 7 hrs away with his own MIL problems. My other brother does his own thing. I choose not to be mad. Just would make everything that much harder to live with. I ended up taking what money Mom had and put her into an AL and eventually a nice NH. My brother visited maybe once or twice in the 13 months she was in the facilities. They have to live with that. I believe what goes around comes around. Being the oldest at 7 and 11 yrs older, I won't be able to care for them if they ever need it.
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Hire an elder law attorney.
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If she owns property in one of the states, and you may need to sell it or handle it for her, consider making sure you do have a financial POA for that state. One that specifies real estate transactions. Some title companies and their underwriters are very picky about POA for real estate, and they might want an in-state POA.
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My younger brother and I were both assigned as DPOA, but there are no stipulations (i.e. primary or secondary.) My older brother should have been added as well, mainly so that we have alternatives in case something happens, but he was/is not local and was not here when those documents were drawn up (could have been done by mail/notary I suppose - too late now.)

Although we are both DPOA, at this point I am the only one who has used either the financial or medical. Unless something happens to me, that works. If she needed someone to advocate for medical and I was not available, at least he has that power. Although I wish my other brother was also DPOA, it would be difficult for him to manage some of the issues since he is not local (2 day drive.)

Since your mother is still on the cusp of being able to sign, you should absolutely be able to get a new DPOA document that adds your sister. The document should be done by an Elder Care Attorney and can specify what duties each of you would perform, but as long as you work together well, I would have you both assigned to be able to handle ANY necessary financial or medical issues, and just coordinate that between you (each can then take over for the other in the event that something happens to one of you!)

That Elder Care Attorney can also advise you regarding the differences in state guidelines. Hopefully one document/attorney will suffice (the non-local brother did not get the DPOAs, but he WAS added to the trust, all drawn up here, not where he lives.) You will also need to ask what is better - have mom do the documents now where she lives or later in the new location? I think some of the power of the documents may relate more to where mom is, since it is SHE who is directing the powers. Again, best to consult this with a competent EC Attorney!
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Yes Debdaughter, an attorney did all of it.
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