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My friend who is 74, got sick and needed to be admitted to hospital, which then they needed a family member who is POA, you need to know his family has had nothing to do with him for 15+yrs, he got better but was sent to a facility due anger issues I was told, he is a Vietnam Vet and does have issues with PTSD. At this time does the POA have complete control of the parent, sorry to say but the POA is out for his trust and property and is trying to find him incompetent. The day after they were called to the hospital, after not seeing him for over 15 yrs, the POA came to his home and retrieved all his titles to property and will and told me he was not ever coming home and he would eventually deteriorate at the facility! he was completely unaware of this and did not understand why he was not allowed to go home, me and my husband decided to talk to social worker who advised us to call APS. who then advised us to talk to him about it because he could still understand, talk, and hear he had the right to know, so we waited for him to ask questions and eventually told him the situation and even before we left the room POA had him moved to a secure floor where he cannot have any visitors or phone calls unless she agrees to it. At this time POA has stopped paying his bills, and is leaving his home unattended, he feels she isn't making the right decisions for him, does he have any rights at all, people have said he can leave facility at anytime, he can revoke POA at any time, he said he wants an attorney, does he have that right in order to protect himself from losing everything to POA?

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If he has not been found incompetent he can revoke the POA anytime and assign a new one. A Geriatric care manager may be able to help with an assessment to determine his cognitive status. Courts may need to be involved. GCM may need to be assigned by the court.
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As long as your friend has not been formally assessed and declared incompetent, his daughter cannot prevent his communicating with anyone he likes. And even if that process has been gone through, it would look odd if she refused him access to independent legal advice. Are you in touch with the facility yourself? If so, and if you can find an attorney with a good reputation, why not see if you can set up an appointment for your friend? This would be no bad thing for the POA daughter herself, is the way to present it; because let's assume that in spite of your concerns she is trying to take responsibility as best she can. Well, in that case, responsible legal opinion a) will back her up and b) may reassure your friend that his affairs are being managed in his best interests and as well as possible.

Your friend's care is going to cost, by the way; and the POA will need access to his assets to pay for it. How do you come to be aware that his bills aren't being paid? - if you're relying on information from your friend... well, I wouldn't.

If you're not getting anywhere, go back to the social worker, give her a situation report and leave it to her to investigate any concerns. Your friend's fundamental rights haven't changed: the only difference is that decisions have to be made for him by the person with POA. She can't take his money, imprison him, isolate him or do anything else unless it is necessary for his wellbeing and protection. If it becomes clear that she is abusing the power of attorney, then the state can intervene and apply to the courts for guardianship.

Just as a final thought: you will probably be most effective as your friend's advocate if you can establish some kind of constructive communication with his daughter. So unless you know from independent sources that her motives and behaviour are suspect, I should reserve judgement on that.

I'm very sorry to learn of a veteran suffering in this way, and wish him and you well.
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