CKcarmar, we need more information. Such as is your sister [or she Dad's sister?] your Dad's financial Power of Attorney? How is the sister signing Dad's checks, forging his name or writing out her own name?
How do you know the sister is doing this? Did she tell you this, or did your Dad tell you this?
Its her dad that can press charges, not the OP and you typically don’t go to an attorney. You go to law enforcement and report the theft/elder abuse and they take it from there.
How old is this sister? Is she in her right mind? Does she look after your dad or live with him? If so, you should keep her far away from your vulnerable father.
To prevent this from happening in general, you need to lock-down your dad's finances and sensitive info. The person with financial PoA needs to get on top of things asap.
1) If your dad has dementia, the FPoA needs to take over all bill payments. This alleviates the need for him to even have checks. Do this and lock up the checks where only the FPoA knows how to access them.
2) Secure his info: SS #, credit cards, passport, passwords, acct numbers, etc. Put important papers into a locking fireproof filing cabinet and the FPoA is the only one who has the keys. NONE of this should be able to be easily found by anyone other than FPoA.
3) FPoA should have as many monthly/regular bills as possible paid via Bank bill pay and they should create online access into his accounts so they can easily monitor activity.
4) Consider a LifeLock type service to monitor his credit.
5) Have his mail go to a PO box.
This is especially necessary actions if an elderly LO has people coming in and out (social services, rehab people, cleaning people, handymen, etc). Good luck!
What checks is she signing? Checks from his checking account? If so, simply close the account. How is she getting access to the checks? A little more detail would be helpful. And consider that this is fraud. She is breaking the law. Tell her if she does it again, you will report her to the authorities.
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You would not let a stranger get away with this behavior.
Your dad needs to be protected, not your sister.
How do you know the sister is doing this? Did she tell you this, or did your Dad tell you this?
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To prevent this from happening in general, you need to lock-down your dad's finances and sensitive info. The person with financial PoA needs to get on top of things asap.
1) If your dad has dementia, the FPoA needs to take over all bill payments. This alleviates the need for him to even have checks. Do this and lock up the checks where only the FPoA knows how to access them.
2) Secure his info: SS #, credit cards, passport, passwords, acct numbers, etc. Put important papers into a locking fireproof filing cabinet and the FPoA is the only one who has the keys. NONE of this should be able to be easily found by anyone other than FPoA.
3) FPoA should have as many monthly/regular bills as possible paid via Bank bill pay and they should create online access into his accounts so they can easily monitor activity.
4) Consider a LifeLock type service to monitor his credit.
5) Have his mail go to a PO box.
This is especially necessary actions if an elderly LO has people coming in and out (social services, rehab people, cleaning people, handymen, etc). Good luck!