Will the court respect a woman's desire to change which family member is her POA and Guardian if she already has dementia?

He did not declare her incompetent, the Judge did. The Judge also appointed the Guardian and only the Judge can remove the Guardian. The Judge also approves where she lives. So back to court you go. If you can't afford the attorney, chances are you won't be a Guardian. I had to be fingerprinted, background checked and credit checked to be a Guardian in NY

No. Incompetent people cannot make competent decisions, dementia and Alzheimer's interfere with competency. Whatever was done when the person was competent must stand now and cannot be overturned

What makes you think an incompetent person with dementia can make sound judgments? The Court must feel this person is making the correct decisions. Visit for the time she has left, and stop interfering and listening to complaints. Everyone with dementia complains! Even those of us without dementia complain...

Obviously the writer of this question is a third party. Not the incompetent person and not the POA. If this third party is witnessing some improper or negligent activity of the POA then they have a responsiblity to report it. Just because someone is declared imcompetent doesn't necessarily mean they are always wrong. They could have legitimate complaints, and they deserve to be looked into by some authority. Which means some legal action needs to take place. If this produces evidence that the POA in not acting in the best interests of the incompetent person, then absolutely yes, the POA can be and will be changed. But no the incompetent person can not just change their mind" and make a change.

There is a difference between incompetence as per a doctor and competence by a lawyer. My partner was declared to have "severe dementia" by a POA who stole money from the elderly - on more than one occasion. He was friends with the Public Trustee, so together, they colluded to fight me on having this erroneous diagnosis overturned. I took her to a lawyer and found that if she was competent to understand what she wanted at the time she was signing papers, then that changed will and changed POA stood. It was a fight, but the lawyer was proved right and the POA was changed. AND she did NOT have severe dementia. She had depression or early stage dementia - also not proven by the stupid doctor who asked his wife to do the assessment. Here in the west coast of Canada, if an elder farts in public they have severe dementia.

Of course it can be overturned if you can show that he's not acting on her behalf. Not saying it's easy, but it can be overturned, especially if he's being financially irresponsible, negligent, or abusive in any manner or the facility she's in isn't a match for her needs (e.g., she needs memory care and there is none where she is, she's taken a sharp decline bc no socialization, a series of bed sores or infections....). Even if or while you can't move her though, you may find things and work with the facility that can make her more comfortable.

Does your mother also live in Orange County? If so, their Office On Aging might be helpful: http://officeonaging.ocgov.com/about

And/or a resource for legal services could be the O.C. Senior Citizens Legal Advocacy Program.

If she lives elsewhere, similar resources can be located through Google or other search engines.

Finding out exactly where you stand could take away some of the worry and get you headed in the right direction in the legal system where she lives.

Blessings for a peaceful resolution to this challenge.

FYI - I did research & got Mom to sign a DURABLE POA while still competent. That cannot be revoked. She has now been declared incompetent by both a doctor & the VA. The DPOA (from what I researched) needs to be signed during a state of competency. Best of luck & stick with it!!

Once a person has dementia/alzheimers they are probably incompetent in the eyes of the law. A person in charge of medical or attorney like issues still has an obligation to follow state/and federal law. Contact health and human services, the attorney general for your state, and an attorney. Discuss what concerns you have with an attorney and the fact that you may not be able to pay a lot.

Individuals with dementia are not competent to make those types of decisions.