My mom's hand shakes. Can I sign her name on the checks to pay bills?

Janeen, my Dad was ignoring his bills as it was my late Mom's job to take care of such matters. So I jumped in, and the bank suggested that my name be added to Dad's checks, then that way I could sign the checks for Dad. I did have Power of Attorney, and took Dad to the bank so the banker could ask him questions, to make sure Dad was ok with this :)

Do you have POA? If not then only mom's signature will do, shaky or not. You might want to look into setting up most of her bill payments on auto-pay or online banking payments so that cheques are not needed. Then set up an appointment with her lawyer to get POA in place, as well as an advance directive and an updated will.

I had my name put on my husband's bank account but he had to approve it. It has made life so much easier so I hope you can achieve this too, Janeen. And POA as well. Best of luck!

You should be able to arrange with her bank to be an authorised signatory for her (with her permission, of course). Ring them up and ask.

Only if your name is on the checking acct.

NO NO NO!!!

Let her sign her name, shaky as it is - aside from legalities, it's good for her to be using her hand, even if shaky.

If needed, you can sign under hers If The Bank Wishes It. In fact, talk to the bank about adding your name to the checking account. This was actually suggested by the bank when my Mother passed and I had to assist my Father. The Bank VP told my father that my name needed to be on everything in case I had to have access to the monies for him. I never had POA and never wanted it, and he checked the bills and bank statement every month for about a year. Then he decided to just trust me. I wasn't offended, I took it as a good sign that his brain was still functioning.

You need to get your name added to her accounts. My mother in law recently passed and my husband's name was on some accounts but not others. Fortunately he was on her checking and he could pay her bills. For the other accounts we had to go to probate court here in our county, fill out something called 'the common form' and request letters testimentary so we could close her IRA accounts. I understand some institutions will accept just a death certificate, but Bank of America needed these letters. Maybe now is not the time to discuss and plan those issues, or it could be too soon for that and you just need to be added to the checking. You can get a lot done having that. Sounds like you are assisting her in paying her bills already.

Flat answer without knowing further detail, is *Yes, you can sign her checks for her *with* her consent. The act of physically signing another's name with their concent is not an act of forgery, it is an act of *agency on their behalf with consent.

In the future, if further legal docs or decisions will need to be made by you (or anyone else) on her behalf, there will need to be a document stating the power in which she agrees to give. Also (but not nessasry to enact a POA) .. but in the future if she is deemed incompetent by a physician (must be in writing) and you have Power Of Attorney status, that will have everything to do with anything further regarding you acting as her agent within an attorney-in-fact position within the power of attorney document = POA. (... But simply signing a check that she clearly knows and understands is being written because her hands shake, is legal to do. (But *consent is the defining legal difference.)

After my dad had a stroke, and lost the use of his writing hand, we took a copy of his signature, or an old check to a stamp making company. We used that on all his checks for years and had no problems.

Call her bank and ask what steps you should take. You might have get a Power of Attorney, you might not. It depends on your Mother. Good luck and God Bless.