Full question:
My mother signed a POA appointing me as her Atty. in fact and my children as the Successor AIF's. In doing so, she removed my sister as the Successor (my sister was having substance abuse issues and was under a psychiatrist's care for depression (a 25 year bout with depression) and substance abuse). About 6 months after signing the new POA, mother was diagnosed with early dementia and early Alzheimer's. My sister is now demanding that she be re-instated as the Successor. She has absolutely no relationship with anyone in the family, including her own children, one of whom has signed an Order of Protection for Stalking against her. No one in the family has any problems with the way mother is being taken care of (except the one sister) and NO ONE in the family wants this sister (who, by the way lives 450 miles from mother) to have anything to do with making decisions for mother. My question is: Since mother has been diagnosed, can she change her POA at the point in time? My sister is relentlessly harassing my mother to get the POA back to the way it was prior to my sister's hospitalization and subsequent commitment for alcohol abuse.
- Category: Power of Attorney
- Date:
- State: Minnesota
Answer:
The answer will depend on all the facts and circumstances involved. A physician may be able to attest to the mother's competency or lack thereof if a challenge is anticipated. A diagnosis of Alzheimer’s or dementia alone is not an indication of incompetence.
Legal capacity is the level of judgment and decision-making ability needed to sign official documents. In order to be competent or have legal capacity to sign documents, a person must be able to understand and appreciate the consequences of his/her actions. In many cases, the person with dementia is able to understand the meaning and importance of a given legal document.
Once a person is diagnosed with dementia, family and friends should help the person make legal plans. The sooner plans can begin, the more the person with dementia may be able to participate.
Planning for incompetence includes:
-Making plans for health care and long-term care coverage
-Making plans for finances and property
-Naming another person to make decisions on behalf of the person with dementia
A living will, power of attorney, and testamentary will should be prepared.
This content is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Legal statutes mentioned reflect the law at the time the content was written and may no longer be current. Always verify the latest version of the law before relying on it.
