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amyjo829 Asked October 2016

My son has used POA to change banking info.

My son is legally POA, but I still want to do my own banking.

EXPERT K. Gabriel Heiser Oct 2016
Naming someone as your "agent" under a power of attorney does not remove you from having full powers, it simply extends your powers to the person you named. So the named agent can handle banking, but so can you. However, if conflicts arise, you need to talk to your agent to straighten things out, otherwise you may need to revoke the POA, which you can do at any time.

Rainmom Oct 2016
If your son did this without previously discussing it with you, I'd seriously re-think having him as your POA.

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JessieBelle Oct 2016
We would need a lot more information about this. Is there a reason that he did it? It may be that he was trying to combine your banking with his so that he can keep up better. Does he pay the bills or take care of your banking needs? Will you not have any checks? Were you writing checks for purchases that surprised him? He may have been trying to protect you from financial worries if that was the case. We need more information to the why. A POA's role is to look out for your best interest. Discuss with him why he did it. I don't know if it was a good thing or not because I don't know the circumstances behind him making the change.

pamstegma Oct 2016
Have sonny boy explain his reasoning... then you BOTH go to the bank together and straighten it out with the manager. We took over bill paying when mom was getting things mixed up. Has that happened?

Anne1017 Oct 2016
Seeing that you are able to post a question ....then I would seriously question his ability to make decisions for you. Unless there is something in this issue that we do not know I would revoke his POA and report and question the bank for allowing him to do this.

PersonalRep5484 Oct 2016
Don't jump here. I had to do several things for my own mom to prepare her to receive Medicaid in the future. Children are under allot of pressure and the State comes after them if they have not helped you and put the proper things in place. Medicaid has a 5 year look back on assets, and it may go to 7 years. Are you aware that your son will be liable to pay out of his pocket for anything you are Not covered for if you go on Medicaid or need a Living Assisted situation or Home Care. Ask him calmly his reasons, he maybe trying to protect your assets so there is money to pay for your needs. You are lucky if you have assets, my mom left me in charge as POA, and she had no money, I ended paying over 40,000 from my own retirement to support her needs that were not covered and her care. She had no idea the depth of her care and the costs by the time she required them. As we age our children "need" to take over and with that responsibility comes their own liability with the State, Medicaid, and if you need Home Care. So don't jump right away thinking the worst, there could be a valid reason. I was on my mom's checking account, jointly, it helped me pay her bills, and put certain things in place that were necessary. I also became liable for paying her bills when she ran out of money and needed a person to help care for her. Ask your son why, and if you are smart and love your son, ask if you can both go to an Elder Care Attorney and make sure things are in place that can Protect BOTH of you. As he probably has no idea of his own liability as a POA. And he should not mix his own money with yours, as the state sees everything in your name as yours even if some of it could be his. This can become an issue with Medicaid, if it is ever needed.

akdaughter Oct 2016
Jessie is right, we need more information. Long before she moved to Assisted Living, my mom became the victim of marginal charities. She began sending checks to these charities, who in turn sold her contact information to other charities. I held POA, but I was not aware of these checks until she needed help to balance her checkbook. She had not been declared incompetent and could do her ADLs and used the computer for email. I explained that these were not the well-respected charities (they would use similar names), and that her money was financing someone's life style. She continued to send checks to whoever called her and even gave her credit card number to one of them, so I had to step in before she got in real trouble financially. I am wondering if the OP's son saw some questionable transactions and moved the bulk of her funds into another account for safekeeping.

Donr827 Oct 2016
My attorney told me, Florida, that the poa can not be used until my wife judge to be incompetent.

JessieBelle Oct 2016
akdaughter, your thinking is the same as mine was. We don't know without knowing the full story.

POAs can be a bit confusing for people that don't know about them. There are two major types: durable and springing. Each type can have additions and stipulations in them. Durable POAs are effective at the date of signing. Springing POAs take effect when the person becomes incapacitated. Someone with a durable POA can make changes that serve the interest of the grantor. I am surprised that a bank would allow money to be moved to a new account by a POA unless his name was on the original account. Banks are usually a bit skittish about POAs. It is understandable, since they probably don't want to end up in family disputes such as the one written about here.

JessieBelle Oct 2016
I think amyjo has left the building.

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