Is durable POA enough to allow my sibling and myself to fully control my mom?

Pam, it might "work" but if contested could be found to not be legit. The people taking advantage of her would not really be in any position to argue that she's not competent though, given they have benefited from her decisions and treated her as someone competent to make them. Mild cognitive impairment does not automatically equal incapacity. It is really a gray area - if she knows what she wants and the POAs (you need both medical and financial) are properly notarized and all, you'd also have to take steps to protect her from the influence of someone who could talk her into changing it as you could not legitimately turn around and get the letters of incompetency right away. The guardianship route is certainly the more secure for all involved and hopefully she would agree to that as well.

The durable POA off the internet will not work, since she is already incompetent. Now the only option is court appointed Guardian. See an attorney ASAP and also discuss the "undue influence" of others. Press charges if at all possible.

ps : no doc has declared her completely incompetent, we have not asked , he just said she cannot be left alone or drive and she needs our help , she cannot take her med alone and forgets to eat and never baths

she know who she is sometimes can make sense, but she forgets what she does in about 5 min or less, she may remember going to dr, but not what was said. she gave property away, but to her favorite son and i do not believe she would want to ask for it back, thank all of u for being helpful, her will is troublesome , as she does not remember it and denies it is what she wants, the attorney was unscrupulous, i believe my mom was being heavily influenced by housekeeper and maybe even been medicated heavily. do not know for sure, do know my mother said she would never put her in will, soooo, the durable poa we pulled from computer requires notary, state of tx. my mother does understand she needs our help., and is willing to sign , she is sad, this day is awful for us all, and when i said i wanted it done once and for all, i mean i , i am wanting to make sure it is what we need to keep her safe and sound as we can, the one sister and brother and myself only have her best interest at heart, but she is surrounded by folks taking advantage of her and it cannot continue , she needs what little she has left. ,thanks again we need all the advise we can get

It is a lot of work but on e of the few ways you can really help a parent maintain quality of life and assure funding for good care. My mom and dad's POAs required two incapacity letters to "activate" my mom's so I could sell the home, but were adequate for just routine internet banking and bill-paying. My dad never had letters done and the only down side to that was I had to have him sign something about resigning as Mom's POA and as a trustee for our trust and I hated doing it because the adviser and I knew perfectly well he had no idea what it was about. You have to physically get hold of the credit cards and checkbooks, and limit cash on hand for her too. You could have a problem with the new will if incapacity was not declared beforehand. If things could be contested or she has still got enough wherewithal cognitively to override you and give money away or buy multiple duplicates of stuff no one needs, you could need guardianship. If in doubt, get an elder law consultation. An initial consultation may not be terribly expensive and should help sort a lot of things, and it is generally OK to use Mom's money to pay for it. I wish you well and hope you find all the emotional support and the advice from experience that you need on here, as you navigate the tough stuff!

If you agree to act as her POA, I'd read it carefully to make sure you understand your duties and responsibilities. I might even check with an attorney to ensure that I was proceeding correctly. In some jurisdictions, you are required to record the document with the court or register of deeds in the county where you live. And in some jurisdictions you may be required to file annual accountings of of the estate records showing how the money was handled. I'd make sure what was required and then start acting.

With my cousin, after he doctor said she had Vascular dementia and could no longer handle her own affairs, I filed it and went to her bank with proof. I had to fill out forms and sign an affidavit for their records.

I then had to sort through all her old mail, confirm bills, contact utilities, etc. It's very time consuming and an ongoing thing. I'm not sure what you mean by "doing this one time and being done with it." Acting as her POA is continuing until their death and requires a lot of attention. You may also need to request to be her Beneficiary Payee if her social security check goes into her bank account so you have authority to use those funds.

I'd look at the paper trail of her assets and see if anything needs to be returned to her. If someone exerted undue influence while she was incompetent, I'd give them the opportunity to do the right thing and return the property.

Do you have POA at this time? If mother is this out-of-it, she may not be eligible to grant POA to anyone. Is she willing to? Could she convince a lawyer that she understands what she is doing?

If you already have POA, re-read the document to see what conditions must apply before you can activate your authority.

riley, has she been declared incompetent by her doctors? If she is legally incompetent, then you will be able to control her affairs withe the POA. The new will does worry me if she had not been declared incompetent. You will want to see if it has been filed and if it hasn't, see about eliminating it if it doesn't make sense.

As a POA you can move her money to a safe account that she can't access. Does anyone live with her now. Tell us a bit more about her situation and someone may have some useful suggestions.