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I have power of attorney. so does my brother.. I live in the same state. .he does not. Do i have to consult with him about every purchase I make? Do I have to have mom sign every check? She stated in her power of attorney that she wants me to be able to pay her bills..

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Depends on how the POA establishes the two of you as proxies. Are you appointed jointly and required to concur on actions, or can you act independently of each other? If the former, you likely would have to agree on actions. If the latter, you don't.

Are you named as joint signatory on her checking account? Or is there a checking account on which you're identified as a acting under a POA? If not, I think you'll have to have your mother sign the checks as the bank might refuse to honor them if you're not identified in some way. You could call them to be sure though, but you should also be prepared to provide them with a copy of the POA.
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GardenArtist offered valuable information. In my state, what I had to do was sign my mother's name on the check and beneath that write "by....my name, POA." This was a durable POA with me listed first and then alternates. The bank had a copy of the POA - that can be important. I'd check with the bank that you would use.

Take care,
Carol
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As POA you will most need to take the POA documents to the bank and they will advise on how you will need to proceed. My company acts as a POA and we have to open a separate POA account and endorse checks as POA for the name.
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You need to check with your bank. Although it is illegal in some states at least many banks do not honor POA. In my state Citibank said, "there is no such thing as POA" (ignorant way to say POA has no power in their bank) I had my name added to my father's bank account. It is done in a manner that does not effect my credit in case he causes problems on his own. I do not have check signing power but have my own debit card. I pay his bills online direct from his account or I draw cash to reimburse purchases and payments made with my CC and bank account. I maintain very clear accounting on all transactions.
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It does seem to vary from state to state and from bank to bank. I am in Michigan. My brother and I are both signers on my parents' accounts, but we do not have any ownership of the accounts. Either of us can sign a check, but since I'm the closest one and the one managing everything, I sign what checks I personally process. I do keep him informed about my spending, and he's comfortable with that. I have as many bills as possible on automatic pay, and I pay other bills online. The bank has the POAs on file. Talk with someone at the bank and find out what they require so you can manage the money. After my mother got out of rehab, she decided that it was nice to not have to worry about paying bills. This was eight years ago, and I've been doing it ever since. Once all this was established, she has occasionally demanded the checkbook back, and I've told her no. Her frustration passed. One thing she does have is a credit card. She can no longer go to stores to shop, so she orders things from catalogs. I told her there is a $200 limit on the card, and she usually spends under $50 on any order. Hope these experiences are helpful.
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I have POA of my sister for health & finances-- but I went to my sister's bank with her in her early stage of Alzheimer & went yoint on her banking account.
I am from Canada - so whether that makes a difference I don't know.?
I had to bring both documents in - health & finances .Even though I am POA & joint - I am not. RESPONSABLE FOR ANY DEBTS she owes.
That was four yrs ago & she is now in a nursing home .I had to empty her house & I gave her house back to the bank.She had a line of credit on her home & had no money to pay both a nursing home & her house So the nursing home is being paid..Hope this helps some what?
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In MA you can't have two POAs because the two may not agree...this is to avoid conflict. If you have POA, even jointly, you can sign your mothers name then yours with the POA designation after it.

Angel
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My husband had a savings account in his name only. In order to gain access to it, I took a copy of the DPOA document to the bank and a bank officer checked my IDs and—after a great deal of keyboard action—I had authorization. Periodically, I transfer money to the checking account that pays his assisted living expenses. I have since then taken the daughter who is POA after me in and had her signature added. (For whatever it's worth, the bank officer may have recognized me from a time when I accompanied B—.)
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we need to be getting this done, if we ever get our own stuff worked out
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When I became the first power of attorney for friends of mine, the first thing I did was go to the bank with them to have my name added to their account so I could sign checks. I get all their bills sent to my address now and pay them with their account, signing my name and adding POA after it. I monitor their checking and savings on-line to keep track of the balances. The wife has since died and the husband remains in their memory care AL apartment. This approach has worked very smoothly. I do periodically email the other two POAs on how things are going, so they are kept in the loop and could step in if I am traveling or otherwise unable to take care of something that comes up. So far, so good. The bank was relieved when I took over things because my friends could no longer keep things straight about their money and kept phoning or coming in to check on their accounts. When I get checks for my friend, I bring them to the bank to deposit so they see me and are reminded about who I am and what I am doing.
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My hubby was on his dad's accounts, it was labeled "Leland and or Larry Peters"..either one could sign the checks. In our state that's all that was required. Upon FIL's death, hubby took death certificates every where he went to liquidate assets. He had no problems at all, other than it taking over a year--but none with the estate. Shoot, I took the tax attorney all the stuff he needed...for sure FIL didn't sign that return--and I think my hubby just wrote a note to attach to the tax files saying "DPOA for the estate of". No problems.
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Anticipating this at one point, my mother put my brother and I on her bank account years ago. My brother and I also have POA, but we write her checks all the time and sign our names. They go through just fine.
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As per my attorney's instructions, I sign checks on my mother's account as follows: (My name), as POA for (mom's name). The attorney advised that it is illegal to sign someone else's name on a check or legal document. I also have one small account that is joint with mom and me so that there are funds available immediately after mom's death. The POA ends at death and it can take several days or even weeks to gain access to accounts in just mom's name.
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my dad had me added to his checking account right after mom passed away for the same reason - glad he did, since even though he prepaid his funeral, there were still some little niggly things I needed to get money out of the account for - I supposed he remembered how it was when my grandfather died, apparently for some reason grandmother didn't have access to his money, maybe their account wasn't joint?
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Open an online account for her , using her current account and pay the bills through the Bill Pay option.
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I'm sure this varies by state, but I didn't think there could be more than one POA. Also, I am under the guidance that you don't need to have joint ownership of a checking account - you could have signing authority OR you could sign the check with your name and indicate that you are have DPOA. I think I would consult further with your attorney and/or the Bank at which your loved one has accounts to be certain. Personally, I would NOT sign myself up to be a co-owner of the account for which I am the POA of. It could cause problems with regards to perceived conflict of interest. Check the counsel and/or bank first.
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This is interesting because I have to decide quickly what to do with my Mom now in memory care. Thanks for all above answers..
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I had to get a copy of the power of attorney to the credit union where my mother banks. Once I did that, they allowed me to sign checks on her account like this: "[My Name], POA for [my mother's name]." I did not have my name actually added to her account, however.
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Sure you can sign checks. Just sign her name with "POA" at the end, or "Attorney-in-Fact" with your name. Give a copy of the POA to the bank just to be on the safe side. Whatever your co-POAs have stated, then that is what you must do. If there is no actual wordage, and you and he discuss you need to buy things without consulting him every time, then don't consult him. I'm sure your mother meant him as a backup in case you could not honor your responsibilities, got ill, etc. I have no problems signing for my husband and I will say you need to be forceful about these people who want to tell you you cannot sign. Either carry around your POA, or don't shop at the places who refuse to believe you. Everyone wants to play t.v. court judge! Sign.
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Remember, POA ceases at the moment of death. It carries no authority with Social Security, so you will need to also be appointed the persons Representative Payee by SSA if you want to change anything or get information. Otherwise you must go through that person, first, before they will agree to speak to you and give you any account info!
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how did any of you get POA (canada) for finances? My mother is the POA but doesn't look after my father , I do and she has refused to pay for anything. The hopital where he is gave me "POA medical decision maker and decision for LTC but without the POA finaces how am I expected to pay for this. I have tow kids of my own adn I am saving for their university educations. One is coming out with $60 000 in loans. I have no idea about their finances but neither does my father. Always just ahnded over the cheques to either his own mother and then to my mother now the CCAC and doctor that tried to get a Form 21 on him said that they cannot state that there has been a decline in his ability to manage his finaces as he had never been in charge of them in his life??!! He is 83, dyslexic and barely knows his time tables??!! Why is this all on me and for me to dish out the funds for his costs and then have to go to court and beg for POA finance after everything is turned over to the Guardian of the PUblic Trustee who incidentally charge 6% off of the top of whatever money that he does have and 6% for their work in dispensing his money to pay his bills while I attempt to get POA financial. It has been suggested to me to go to a Justice of the Peace (J.O.P) and tell my story there but I fear I will hear the same story that my mother is his POA and if my dad agrees to her staying as such, regardless of him twice being basically left to die in their house (with him forcibibly removed once where she was to basically lose custody of him due to his failure of the capacity test ) and the second time 5 years later with them both being forcibly removed on a Form 1 and my mother reformed with a Form one back to back so I could clean the house. This is crazy! How do I stop the madness??!!
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SS wanted to speak with my mom on the phone for authorization before they'd talk to me - it was laughable and after listening to my mom talk them in circles for a while I took back the phone and they were more than happy to talk to me.
But the ridiculous part was I could have been handing the phone to my hubby doing his best old lady voice - kills me!
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Don't you have to have DPOA?
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Yes, I agree, Social Security does NOT honor a POA and you need to take the person inside with a signed letter from a doctor that they can no longer manage their affairs. Chase bank required me to open a separate account for my husband, with his name and then my name as Rep Payee. I get separate statements every month which makes it really great because you will have to report what you did with the money to Social Security yearly.
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