Care for a 98 yr old WW2 vet with dementia. Reasoning and logic are great. Short term memory, confusion at times, and repetitiveness are challenges. Vet has 1 living daughter 14 hours away. I have cared for and taken care of all finances for past 5 years. I only have verbal permission for use of his account for his bills and anything pertaining to him. He pays utilities at my home in lieu of care, given I had to quit my job to care for him. I keep records, receipts, and ledgers but thinking I need to look into other options to safeguard myself, just in case. Anyone else dealt with similar arrangements??
Is he getting any payments from the VA? His social security. Who is representative payee ?
Who gave you permission to use his account? With dementia he can not give permission, unless POA was done prior to dementia diagnosis.
it is a good thing you have kept records.
I hope someone else is more helpful with their response.
I am sure you have had nothing but good intentions but you need to be careful
Since you say his "Reasoning and logic are great. Short term memory, confusion at times..." he may still be able to sign a DPoA at an elder law attorney. The attorney will interview him privately to assess his ability to understand what he would be assigning you (or his daughter). If he "passes" the assessment the attorney will create the document for him. You will then need to call his bank to see what they require because banks have their own PoA protocol (they mostly never accept a PoA that was not created by them). Some banks require the person (your vet) to be brought in person to give you access to his accounts. Not sure how old the daughter is or if she's willing and able to be his PoA but if she finds out after the fact of his creating a PoA, there would be trouble. Best if she's looped into this decision, with the vet's blessing.
How is your relationship with her? Give her a call and let her know you need a written letter acknowledging exactly what her Dad has been paying for and will continue to pay.
If you don't want to call her, then see a lawyer and explain the verbal agreement and your back-up receipts and see if this is sufficient should you be challenged down the line. Your lawyer may give you simple options that will solve this dilemma.