Power of attorney

My brother holds a power of attorney  for our extremely ill mother.  He has held it for awhile but never changed the address on a couple of her accounts.  Now the bank will not let him do it without her signature,  or at least her initials.  This is beyond her abilities, so we are getting a letter from her doctor.  My question is why is this necessary?   Shouldn't he be able to do all of this stuff already?


Is it a durable power of attorney?  If so, I would think that it should be sufficient.  If not, they may be of the opinion that the poa is no longer valid.

N.B.  This is not legal advice.


it is durable.  My mother had the foresight to cover her bases with a living will, DNR order, and the durable power of attorney.  It seems like wells Fargo makes up their own rules.


I have a POA on my brother, yet have not been able to do much with it.  Seems that institutes don't want to put out info, and will do everything in their power to fight you.


what they don't tell you is that the POA need to be activated for each account which requires changing the title of each account with signatures from account holder and POA.  I spent two hours doing this with my mother.  Obviously needs doing while a signature can be obtained.  Same holds true for brokerage accounts. POA needs to be activated on each account


What's activate mean?


Problem is, the banks (and other institutions) are all afraid that someone will walk in with a fake POA and steal assets.  


Having all other paperwork in legit order and In the name of practicality, to her benefit and with her permission, I would sometimes write my now late mother's signature on such documents when I had POA. It helped in her best interests and care.

Sometimes it is best for all to simply go around an obstacle.


thats basically what I do as well.  Unfortunately sometimes my brother isn't of the same mind, and it is his gig so I just try to be helpful.


When I was caring (long-distance) for my parents I had many issues with the (durable) POAs which I held for them.  Some institutions would accept a faxed copy (easy-peasy), while others made me jump through all kinds of hoops.  Legally, the POA holder should have (or be able to obtain) the necessary authority for ALL of her accounts, but they may have to jump through a few hoops and get to the manager or whatever to achieve that.  However, your mother's signature should NOT be required as the whole point of the durable POA is for the holder to be able to handle things for them when they can't do that any longer.  

So, at times, it is just easier to find workarounds.  I tried to get online access in most cases and just operate as my mother or father via the internet.  Since I knew their dates of birth and social security numbers as well as mothers maiden names, etc., this was usually the easiest way to handle most issues.  Of all the institutions I dealt with for them, only the government (i.e. Social Security) specifically restricts online access to the person themself, not even a POA, so I did not pretend otherwise in that case.  If I had to use the phone or go in person, I brought my POA and plenty of ID with me and was usually (eventually) able to get what I needed.


mod said:

what they don't tell you is that the POA need to be activated for each account which requires changing the title of each account with signatures from account holder and POA.  I spent two hours doing this with my mother.  Obviously needs doing while a signature can be obtained.  Same holds true for brokerage accounts. POA needs to be activated on each account

Yes, you have to notify every financial institution to "activate" for the various accounts. No, they cannot require you to supply your mother as proof. The POA is sufficient to activate it. Sometimes you have to sign their paper stating the POA is still in effect.

I had that issue with three institutions, where there was  "resistance." The "resistance" evaporated when our elder care attorney "enlightened" them.


I encountered this same problem when trying to transact bank business for my dad. I was told that the bank had its own POA, which needed to be completed. Since he was in rehab in Florida, and I was in NJ, I ended up getting a lot done over the phone by pretending to be he. While I understand and appreciate the bank's security reasoning, I found some of the banking people totally unhelpful and utterly unsympathetic.


Try calling the lawyer who assisted you with the POA.


We are going to be fine.  It is only a change of address in this case, and most of the other stuff has been squared away over the last couple of years, but it infuriates me to think that people have to pay an attorney  to get a bank to accept a legal document. 


FilmCarp said:

We are going to be fine.  It is only a change of address in this case, and most of the other stuff has been squared away over the last couple of years, but it infuriates me to think that people have to pay an attorney  to get a bank to accept a legal document. 

You probably don't have to pay. If you have a T&E attorney who handles all your T&E needs, they'd make a phone call for you on this. If he/she won't, I'd change attorneys.


shoshannah said:
FilmCarp said:

We are going to be fine.  It is only a change of address in this case, and most of the other stuff has been squared away over the last couple of years, but it infuriates me to think that people have to pay an attorney  to get a bank to accept a legal document. 

You probably don't have to pay. If you have a T&E attorney who handles all your T&E needs, they'd make a phone call for you on this. If he/she won't, I'd change attorneys.

The attorney who had prepared my parents' documents did make a phone call or two for me along the way and there was no charge.  She was pretty livid that they were being such a pain about it, actually.


would full guardianship be an option or any different?


I am not a lawyer, so please take this with a grain of salt, but wouldn't full guardianship make you fiscally responsible as well?  As in, your assets must be dedicated to their care?


The guardian does not have to use the guardian's assets to pay for the ward.  



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