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Mother just qualified for Medicaid. I live out of state. My sister cares for her by being prime contact, visiting frequently, and taking her to doctor. Now since mom has spent down the paperwork and bills are less so my sister can manage the financials too. Mother has significant cognitive decline and cannot make this decision. She doesn't even know where she lives. She if that far gone. Once the government paperwork is complete and we are on "autopilot" how can I legally transfer POA to my sister? She and my mother live in Tennessee. I live in Georgia. Would guardianship be the only way we could do this?

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Great to hear. !
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Thank you all. This problem is resolved.
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Keep in mind there are legal procedures to change a notarized POA document. You can't just "decide and do" or it won't be recognized as legal.

Guardianship/Conservatorship is a very expensive and time consuming thing to pursue. The court is going to look into why the least restrictive option (POA) isn't working and may send you back to make it work. Take my word for it, getting guardianship will eat up all the money. Then when you have it, everything is just 10 times more difficult because of the rules you have to follow, which vary by state.

Laws for POA & guardianship vary by state so you can either do your own research or pay an eldercare attorney to adivse you and possibly even do the paperwork.
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You can relinquish your POA but if their is no secondary then it will remain vacant.Why do you want to give up your role? If you are able to get things on"autopilot"...which is great!....then you should have minimum involvement. Or do you feel you have more to do than you care to give? Actually, if you followed the rules of guardianship you would be required to submit an annual report. ( not really that difficult I might add). Congrats on getting Medicaid...it might not be your first choice but it does require much persistence.
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Your sister needs to file for guardianship. Just being the medical POA does not give her the authority to deal with financials that comes from being the durable POA. It's good that her bank has not been after about that since she's been handling your mom's money for her.
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Yes it would be good if she was on POA. but not. Thank you everyone.
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Is your sister by any chance listed as the secondary on the POA? That would make transfer easy.
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Thank you for your comments.
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You can't transfer a POA. It could only be done by your mother if she were competent. I'm POA for my parents and I handle most finances, bills etc. from 3 states away and I have no one near them to help. Couldn't you and your sister cooperate on the financial stuff?

You could do guardianship but that's not easy and will cost a good bit of money. It seems to me you're in a pretty good position to take care of her affairs as it stands.
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Read the POA carefully; sometimes there are provisions allowing the primary proxy to assign to another person.

I have a vague recollection that years ago there was a situation in which a law firm client relinquished his/her rights and voluntarily assigned it to another family member.
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