Can a Power of Attorney refuse to allow family members to visit their mother who is competent and requesting visits?

This is criminal behaviour. It is emotional abuse. In Canada one would seek redress through the police.

Maryland State law requires an investigation and either opening or closing a case within 30 calendar days from the time the APS is reported to the DSS APS Unit of the Adult Services Unit. My investigation report was finalized with the unsubstantiated closing of the case within the 30 days via a letter from the SW that came out for the visit. I would think that each State has APS guidelines that are required to be followed. Unfortunately, there is no choice in the matter to accept or deny the SW investigation when an APS investigation is submitted. The alleged vulnerable adult and the person(s) that is/are the alleged abuser/neglector must be interviewed.

We were turned in on Sept 7th and they came to our home on the 9th to speak with my mother without our knowledge. The woman finally called me at the end of September to say that we were investigated and everything was fine and we were cleared. So all in all, 3 weeks for us.

Thanks AGAIN! Everyone is great to share and continue to share on this matter!!!

How long does the average APS investigation take to conclude once it is started. In our state we always hear that the SWers are over worked with to many clients and have problems getting the bases covered. We are sure they are dedicated but it is what it is. Probably the same problem in every state.
Will they continue the investigation if the mother isn't interested or attempts to cover things up but just not being forth coming? The brothers feel that if the APS goes beyond a visit with their mother they will find there is reason for concern and further investigation. But...will APS contact those folks if the mother isn't interested???

I forgot to mention that the "alleged" neglect of my husband was "unsubstantiated" by the SW investigation. At first, I was very hurt when the SW arrived at my door and apologized for having to come in for the investigation. But when she had first hand knowledge of the care that was needed for my "high anxiety" husband that had a stroke last year, she spoke to my husband briefly and then left.

The phone call to the Adult Protective Services Unit of your local Dept. of Social Services is the first step. I am very familiar with APS as I have worked in a DSS and I was actually referred to APS by my husband's Adult Children. The APS have Social Workers that investigate the alleged abuse, neglect of a vulnerable adult. The SW will speak to the alleged abused person in a way that is none threatening. They will not/cannot tell the family who referred the APS worker for the visit. The APS case will be opened and hopefully within 30 days negotiations can begin. I hope this has helped. Good luck and thanks for advocating for the vulnerable adults.

Yep. Adult services is the ticket especially if your mother is not incompetent. Even if she does cover for the family that is taking care of her, it will be documented with protective services. They will get the truth. It's all how they ask the questions and they ask alot of them. Let you mom speak with them and if she is comfortable she will respond truthfully and without being coericed by anyone.

Mayasbop Thank you and all the others that have taken time to respond. The information has and is being shared with the brothers and hopefully they will proceed.
They have witnesses to the refusals, the mother sharing her fears, concerns and desires, etc....
Have to pray that the APS rep is experienced enough to pursue the matter fully, contact those they might list, perhaps even get the mother away from the POA for several days (to stay with the other brothers) and re interview her where she might feel safer.
Again thanks to all. If anyone thinks of anything else or has had direct experience with APS please share any info you can that might be meaningful.

APS will have experience in dealing with elders like your mother. If you and others who were with your mother over those two days were to speak to APS, they will have a better idea of what they will encounter when they go to do a health and welfare check on your mother. It's their job to investigate and to take any action that they think is necessary to protect your mom. They have the authority. If there is ANY suspicion of an elder being abused, they can't just walk away. They can also get copies of the actual POA to see what it says. They also have the authority to speak to your mother ALONE. They know that if someone is afraid, the victim is going to try to hide the truth in order to protect themselves from being a target too.

Take any and all names of folks that your mother spoke to with you to APS, along with phone numbers and addresses, so that APS can contact them and get a clearer picture of just why you are so concerned. If you have any e-mails or any letters, take them with you as well. It seems that no matter what you do, your brother rejects even his own conditions that he demands of you. You have witnesses as to what has been said by your mom. Please don't wait any longer.

Mayasbop Thank YOU for sharing. I think the brothers are worried that since their mother is competent that when the APS talk with her that she will actually cover for the POA and his family 1. because no matter what they have done they are family and she won't want them to get into legal trouble 2. Out of fear of retaleation 3. the POA has her convienced that she has no other choice but to live with him or begin to sell her property and move into a nursing home.
The two days the brothers had with her was eye opening for them....not only the revealing of bits of what had been going on for 11 months but the level of fear and hopelessness in their mother.
However if the brothers were to make a report and provided information of other family members and friends that visited with their mom the two days they had her and snips of what they are aware of from other limited exposure .... maybe APS woudl dig deeper and not just walk away is mom isn't the most forth coming. ???

Has anyone had direct experience with APS?
If mom isn't the most forthcoming, for the reason mentioned above, how will APS handle the complaint?
Would APS continue with the investigation and contact others that the brothers listed as having knowledge even if mom was not forth coming?

Of course Adult Services would let you know. You're her family. You have a right to know what is going on. You have a right to see your mother. She has a right to see you. She's competent, it's HER house and she's being told what she can and cannot do? That's being held hostage, not being cared for. Your brother needs to be awakened to that and it will take someone who has an absolute right to demand, someone whose authority he can't question, to wake his fanny up. Do it now before it's too late to do anything.

I had an aunt whose children had POA over literally everything in her life. It even gave them the right to decide her personal relationships. I think that they had convinced her that she needed their protection. No, they needed the secrecy. By the time she died, anything of value that she'd owned was gone. She'd given it all away to them, but they still ignored her. A couple of her nieces found her sitting in the floor on evening, taking her clothes off and putting them back on. She had several pain patches on her at once. And no, she wasn't taken to the hospital until a few days after, of course, the pain patches had been removed. I would imagine that they wanted some time for the meds to wear off before anyone actually examined her. She died less than a month later. And this woman who wasn't illiterate signed a new POA with an "x" less than two weeks before she died. Only that one didn't mention anything about her personal relationships. Gee, does it seem to you that they didn't want anyone to know about that little provision in the first one?

And how do I know about the POAs? In this state, it's public record. It's all easily available at no charge on the county's website. Frankly, an evening of combing through scanned images of POAs and deeds online left me sick to my stomach. At the time, I lived in another state and wasn't here. I used to call her, but her hearing got so bad that she couldn't hear me on the telephone any longer. I am my own mother's caregiver and couldn't leave her to go and see for myself what was going on. I wish I could have. You have no idea how much I do.

A power of attorney gives the agent the power to make financial decisions, but those don't include restricting who can visit the person. Only through a court-ordered conservatorship could someone have that kind of power. If you or your brothers ask to speak to your mother directly and are refused, it would be grounds to ask the police department to do a welfare check on your mother, and to get adult protective services involved.

Thanks for the reply.

Hate to take it to that level.

However the brothers are running out of options. That is why we came here to post and see if there were options we were not aware of, ideas someone else had tried and failed or had success with.

They want to be reasonable.

It just seems simple.

If she is competent she can decide for herself.

I'd think they should be able to just drive up, knock on the door and see her or take her out of the house if that is what she would like.

Will Adult Services advise the outcome of their involvment/investigation if called?

It sounds as if your mother is being held hostage, to be honest. Get Adult Services involved because of your concern for her safety and well-being. Call the police and get them to do a health and welfare check on HER. Request that they see and speak to her. Tell Adult Services what you've told everyone here and let them intervene. They're supposed to protect your mother from abuse and what you're describing sure sounds like it fits the bill.

My question is still.... what is the reasonable action that the two brothers should take to see their mother.
The home she is at the mother owns. So to see her the would be on property owned by the mother.
She is competent.
Do they physically go to the house and if refused entry by the other family members living there enter anyway?

Perhaps POA wants to wait till mom gets drained of whatever money she has. I hope not.

Mariesmom.... I agree with you. If mom is with it mentally what is all the POA stuff about.

Changing the POA is perhaps this is what the current POA fears. Perhaps he is concerned about what additional information mom will share.... She does have some slight memory issues.... maybe he wants to keep her until she is incompetent.... perhaps she has signed documents the brothers don't know about and the POA doesn't want those documents nulled.
Who knows.
I'd think if she wants to see them or visit them or whatever it should just happen.

Great idea! Mediation was considered.

After much discussion the two brothers suggested mediation to the POA. The POA stated that if the two other brothers showed up for a meeting at "his" attorney's office to workk out details on returning their mother home they could then visit the mother.

Note: the information from the POA prior to the mothers visit was vastly inaccurate with regard to her abilities when visiting. The brothers do not feel they can base any detailed planning on the POA's information and are concerned the mothers doctor may be receiving the same apparent misiniformation. The POA's report on her abilities was far less than what was observed.

The two sons responded that if the POA wanted their input in developing a detailed plan, and their assistance to impliment it they needed::
1. To have the mother visit for 2-3 weeks so that they could observe her day to day and formulate a clearer picture of what she could and could not do.
2. At the end of the visit go with her to a doctor visit for a discussion.
3. Afterwhich they would be happy to sit down with the POA, with the mother in attendance, and work out the details of a plan.

The POA refused. He advises they cannot see their mother, cannot talk to her, cannot go with her to her doctor, and that the mother cannot attend the meeting.

The two brothers then in desperation stated ... ok..... they would attend the meeting but wouldn't be informed enough to sign off on any detailed plan. None the less they would show up, listen, and ask questions. In return they wanted assurance from the POA that when the meeting was over that they could take their mother for an extended visit (as he had orginally advised if attended the meeting they could visit her).

The POA refused. Ranted about how the two brothers could out vote him and he and his family would loose and he wasn't going to allow that. He states that the two brothers and the mother are against him.

It appeares the POA wants to have a meeting, tell the brothers how it was going to be, get them to agree and commit to help with "his" plan (which the POA has advised he doesn't have??), and spring it on the mother.

The POA continues to make comments he has the power and authority to deny visits and control her.

In frustation the brothers advised him to put together a plan by himself and make it happen. The mother has advised him she wants to go home and they feel that as her agent he is to make it happen.

In the meantime they want to visit their mother and reminded him she was requested visits with them.

Again the POA refuses

The brothers are upset and confused as to the motive of the POA. After all it is suppose to be about what is in the mothers best interest.

I don't understand why - if Mom is competent - she has someone acting as her POA at all. She should revoke it. Simple notarized from (available free on the web). Easy enough to redo it later - perhaps to a different person?

Sounds like POA is on a power trip to me. Why can't the whole family sit down and talk about this stuff? I'm the POA for my mother-in-law but that only works with her money at the bank I thought. I pay the bills etc, but can't imagine having the power to say when and where she goes. The POA could clean out her bank account though and make your lives miserable if you don't open up a dialogue with that person. Maybe you need a disinterested third party to mediate.