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sibling5355 Asked August 2017

I had a brother who was POA of a mentally ill sibling, but there was no direction in the event of his death. How is a new POA appointed?

It appears that his wife took it upon herself to have the mentally ill sibling sign a form giving her authority to handle his affairs. I think there should have been a discussion about this and perhaps a surviving sibling should have been appointed. Is this something an attorney should handle for the surviving family members?

sibling5355 Aug 2017
Thanks for your replies. My mentally ill brother is in a facility. I would agree that if he was living in my deceased brother's home, she should have POA. And I am going to speak to his care givers regarding "sound mind". From what my living brothers and I have seen, he simply agrees with anything said to him. I am concerned about his finances and that his investments are handled properly. I think surviving siblings should have a say or select the POA. I've decided to seek legal advice.

jeannegibbs Aug 2017
Is the ill brother of sound mind? At least some of the time? Then he is the only one who can assign a POA.

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freqflyer Aug 2017
First, who is taking care of the sibling who is ill? Sounds like your married brother had passed away, correct? If it was your brother and his wife taking care of the ill brother, it would only make sense that the wife would want to be the Power of Attorney.

Please note that only the ill sibling can appoint someone to be his Power of Attorney. Does he have times where he is clear minded so he can make a sound decision? Do you know if an Attorney made the change to the Power of Attorney to have the sister-in-law as his Power of Attorney.

Note, not everyone chooses a family member to be their Power of Attorney. Anyone can be assigned.

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