I had an operation and signed my son as a POA, I'm fine now, but he has been removing things from our farm without permission. an writing checks on my bank accounts, I need to stop this.
Excellent answers, Babalou and Pam! Getting an attorney immediately is key and will help you craft the right documents quickly so you can quickly get them to the bank.
Meanwhile, if you stop by your bank, you can probably revoke, on the spot, his ability to withdraw funds. You ought to do that tomorrow.
Finally, you'll need to do what Pam suggested...get back what he took. If not, as Babalou said, you'll need to engage the police and probably file a formal complaint. Here's why:
If your son withdrew more than $1,000 at a time or within a few days or took items worth a $1,000 or more, Medicaid will target that as a gift should you need to fall back on Medicaid for LTC. Your answer will be, "I didn't give it to him, he took it!" If it's theft, you'll have to treat it like theft or Medicaid will say it's a gift...period. We had to go down that road with my wife's sibling. It was the worst thing in the world we'd ever done, and fortunately there was no action taken by the county to actually prosecute. But it ultimately resulted in her parent getting Medicaid.
Besides being a royal pain, the only way he can really counter your actions is to claim that you're incompetent and seek guardianship. That would require, depending on the state, a couple of doctors to examine you and declare that you're incompetent then a court proceeding into which you have significant input through a court appointed attorney if not your own. Because this is an option open to your son, it's another good reason to get with an attorney ASAP.
If you Google "how to revoke power of attorney", you'll get good answers. Basically, you need to state in writing that you are revoking the power of attorney that was executed on thus and such a date. You mail that document to current POA and to your bank and any other institutions that have it on file. You also send a certified letter to current POA, demanding the return of the first POA.
I would also report the theft to the police. A POA gives a person to act in the best interests of the person granting it, not to appropriate their property.
Meanwhile, if you stop by your bank, you can probably revoke, on the spot, his ability to withdraw funds. You ought to do that tomorrow.
Finally, you'll need to do what Pam suggested...get back what he took. If not, as Babalou said, you'll need to engage the police and probably file a formal complaint. Here's why:
If your son withdrew more than $1,000 at a time or within a few days or took items worth a $1,000 or more, Medicaid will target that as a gift should you need to fall back on Medicaid for LTC. Your answer will be, "I didn't give it to him, he took it!" If it's theft, you'll have to treat it like theft or Medicaid will say it's a gift...period. We had to go down that road with my wife's sibling. It was the worst thing in the world we'd ever done, and fortunately there was no action taken by the county to actually prosecute. But it ultimately resulted in her parent getting Medicaid.
Besides being a royal pain, the only way he can really counter your actions is to claim that you're incompetent and seek guardianship. That would require, depending on the state, a couple of doctors to examine you and declare that you're incompetent then a court proceeding into which you have significant input through a court appointed attorney if not your own. Because this is an option open to your son, it's another good reason to get with an attorney ASAP.
I would also report the theft to the police. A POA gives a person to act in the best interests of the person granting it, not to appropriate their property.