Are there any good resources for someone new to the financial world stepping into financial POA?

There are licensed fiduciaries who can help if you take on this onerous task but I will tell you that when I took on the duties of POA and Trustee of Trust for my brother, who was diagnosed with probable early Lewy's dementia, it was a massive learning task that took me a year to pull together. A very anxiety-filled year.

Firstly, you seem not aware that as you serve as POA YOU do not pay. The funds of the person you are serving pays their bills; and can even pay a small fee to you if that is stipulated in the POA papers.

A springing POA will work but do know also that a POA doesn't control the trust and cannot draw finances from the trust or access the trust or draw funds from the trust. The trustee of the trust is likely still your parent who created it unless uncle is already appointed to act for the trust. If he is then HE will be paying all bills. If you are POA you will be choosing placement if needed, but this is complicated if Uncle says "The trust won't pay that much for a facility". One person serving as POA and one as Trustee of Trust is my idea of the perfect nightmare from Hades.

What I am saying to you here is that if your Mom's assets are in a Trust primarily, with some in a POA, only the POA would be in your control. Yet you would be responsible for paying bills, placement, care, et al.

As this is complicated you need NOW to get to an elder law attorney, taking a copy of springing POA. I think you will get information from him and may decide not to even act where another entity, the Trust is so in control of things. I sure would not. I think you need to know all about the awful duties of getting together a way to keep meticulous records, paying all bills, who pays what and etc.

If your Mom still has capacity and competency she can now make you Trustee of Trust IF you are competent yourself to handle what you would have to or to hire a fiduciary to do it. You/she/and her attorney can draw up a new POA if she wishes (it was my brother who asked me to act for him). You and she can add your name as POA to all accounts and give your name as signer of checks as POA with an allowance going to Mom. All of this IF she is competent still and IF she wishes it.

I myself found this hard work. I would never have done it for anyone but the gentlest, kindest, most willing and cooperative man in the world--and the most organized. Talking about my bro. And I would never do it again. Especially if there is wealth and other family involved. No way. No way. And no way.
But up to you.
Speak to an attorney (elder law) now. Don't make a move in ANY of this without speaking to a very GOOD elder attorney for advice about options.

Being POA should not COST you anything. Make that your guiding principle. Mom's substantial wealth should pay for her care.

Being POA and needing to direct/arrange mom's care without being "in charge" of her funds could be tricky. Is Uncle understanding that good care costs lots of money?

Enmeshed sis is indeed a red flag. Mom needs PROFESSIONAL CARE. Not an enmeshed adult child who might be looking to maximize their inheritance.

www.bogleheads.org is an excellent site to gain a financial education and ask questions like these.

See an elder attorney to read over those trust papers. You will be asked to bring over as much documentation as you can find. You should get an explanation about uncles duties and your duties. Legal representation may contact him about emeshed situation
I also was appointed conservator for my mom by a judge. My attorney educated me about the financial form required by her state. It was a good learning process and I continue to use the form for accounting for myself post inheritance. For the few years that I was conservator and consulting with her financial advisor, I was able to spend about 20 min each month and a little longer for tax time. The advisor assisted me on streamlining things so that I did not need a probate letter as executor. All funds were able to be distributed to beneficieries without oversight as everything moved cleanly.
It will be a good lesson for future financial knowledge if you inherit from mom

If she was hospitalized recently I would have her first checked for a UTI, which can produce dementia-like symptoms in women. It is treatable with antibiotics. If she is an alcoholic, she could have a vitamin deficiency, which can also produce dementia-like symptoms. So can dehydration, diabetes, HBP, etc. Make sure these are first discounted or treated.

We have a trust and it is set up so that the trustees or PoAs can pay for legal help from the trust itself. See if this is the case for your Mom's trust. Caregiving for her should not cost you either money or your mental/physical health. Stuggles over her assets and "inheritance" issues will be very stressful and complicating. Be sure you want to become part of this... sounds like it is already heading in that direction.

The words “enmeshed with my sibling”are a HUGE red flag. As are the potential for conflict with your uncle as Trust officer (I assume he is successor trustee, not currently acting?), but it sounds like you may have a good relationship with him so that could be manageable. Alva did a great job pointing out the potential problems there. But as for your sibling: Has your wealthy mom been supporting them? Does he or she live with mom? Pay rent or utilities or food? Do mom and/or that sibling have expectations of continued support? And what is your relationship like with the sibling? Because if they are enmeshed, then if you take on these responsibilities for your mom, you are likely taking them on for your sibling as well. And if those issues are not addressed very directly upfront, then they could be the source of serious conflict. Think hard about that!

You can use your POA to access her accounts and pay her bills from HER accounts. Banks are pretty bad at acknowledging POA’s so if possible have your mother put you on her accounts now. It will make things so much easier for you. But understand that this make you the owner of the account once she passes so whatever money is left will be yours alone. This can obviously cause problems with siblings unless you let them know you will keep good accounting and share it with them and split whatever is left in the accounts when the time comes. Once your mother passes your POA is over the minute she leaves this earth and the executor of the trust steps in to do the work of trust administration and pass her assets and property to the beneficiaries of the trust. If your job was only POA and not successor trustee or executor, your job will be over when she passes. So if you use your POA to pay her bills make sure you keep very good records so there are no issues when the executor takes over.

If you can get onto all her accounts you can set up auto pay for her bills to make things easier for you. It’s a lot of work up front to make things easier overall.

My father had Alzheimer’s and while I was POA he would not accept help. I did it all behind his back with my POA to protect him and his assets. He had no idea I had basically taken his entire financial life away from him. I am also the executor of his trust, successor trustee, and the beneficiary of the trust assets except for one house. The minute he passed my POA was over and my executor job began. It’s a ton of work, even without family squabbling in the mix. If your uncle is executor, understand this takes time, and the administration of the trust is an expense to be paid for from the trust assets, not out of his pocket. Depending on the way the trust was written he may also be allowed to be compensated for his work.

Others have suggested having your name on her account. When we went to our elder/estate attorney we were advised against it. We are in SC. Our sons were added POD (payment on death) and our POA allows them access while we are alive. So far they haven’t needed to use the POA and we are blessed we can fully trust them. I believe they did have to go in and sign signature cards for the accounts.

Having your name on certain assets of your mother (like home, accounts, etc.) can also make you both liable for financial issues that may happen in the future. If YOU should ever have a bankruptcy case, everything of your mother’s that has your name attached may be vulnerable too.

Since she already has a trust, perhaps your mother already has a lot of faith in that attorney and it would be a good place to start with any questions about a POA. Ideally, any charges should be eligible to be paid from your mother’s funds.

If you do find a resource to help understand POAs it would be helpful to share it here as I am sure a lot of us could benefit.

You mentioned that there is a springing POA. A springing POA becomes effective only if your mother is incapacitated. According to what you mentioned, your mother is not incapacitated. You need to consult an elder law attorney to answer your question.

Get direction and education from an Elder Law Attorney

Seek out a elder attorney and accountant . Get on her bank account .