Regarding a durable power of attorney, does it become functional immediately at the signing or does the person have to become ill before it goes into effect?

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Regarding a durable power of attorney, does it become functional immediately at the signing or does the person have to become ill before it goes into effect?

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Regarding a durable power of attorney, does it become functional immediately at the signing or does the person have to become ill before it goes into effect? Siblings and signer were all at the signing, but the info escapes me now, a few years later. We can only use POA jointly, never separately. I have posted before and now realize a POA exists and a copy is right here with me. Just didn't realize it. Thank you to all who help on here.

Durable POA Elder Law Forms & Documents Power of Attorney (POA)

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POA usually becomes effective when the person who issues the POA (mom/dad/vulnerable loved one) can not make decisions for himself or herself. Usually, there needs to have been at least 1 medical doctor that tests for cognition and decides that the person is not mentally competent to make decisions for himself or herself.

Read through the POA to see what are the parameters of the document. If need be, Google legal terms or ask a lawyer to explain the statements made in the document.

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Reply to Taarna

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POA becomes effective when the loved one cannot speak or make decisions for himself to manage his own affairs. Requires two professionals to authorize from his conditions.

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Reply to Patathome01

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It depends. When my brother first got diagnosed with his early Lewy's Dementia we went together and I was made the POA for all financial actions and interactions, and placed on all accounts as POA/ Trustee of Trust. We then went together to do the account work, working with the banks to insure he had his own small spending account while I handled investments, accounts, bills, expenditures and etc.

Other POA are part of a will and are known as "springing POA" in some cases, meaning they come into effect only WHEN and IF certain things exist and are done (such usually require two doctors examinations and letters.

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Reply to AlvaDeer

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Xbox1993: It should be effective now.

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Reply to Llamalover47

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A Durable POA usually requires 2 doctors' statements that the principal is unable to make decisions.

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Reply to RedVanAnnie

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In Texas, we recently revised my husband's durable POA and the attorney advised us to NOT include a clause about incapacity. But I have also found that his bank has their own POA form and would not accept the new POA. And for his military retirement pay, the organization requires both a POA and a letter of incapacity. It's frustrating that his legally drawn up POA is not universally accepted by various financial entities.

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Reply to pamela78702

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I hear you. Of four bank accounts of my mother’s, two went the easy way and simply added my name to the account. One set me up as Power of Attorney. She was with me for every visit. The fourth refused to honor the wording in her trust and I had no way to ask for clarification from the bank’s lawyer pool. We could have hired a lawyer schooled in elderly’s family financial laws but we elected to simply spend down the account with her shaky signature or by direct payments from checking account. She has been diagnosed with Alzheimers so no doubt she needs us to manage her affairs.

What I have learned is it is very difficult and time consuming to transition the affairs of a fading senior into safe hands. We are lucky with small family that all live nearby.

I have also learned that when the time comes I need to find a new Trust Lawyer. Of the two she had, one retired and one passed away. As fast as guidelines change I gather trusts should be periodically reviewed. But, who has the time or $$$ when also being a caregiver?

We are doing the best we can as the years roll on, the medical conditions change and society seems way too volatile.

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My dad had a scammer on his bank account who received updates when dad was paid by ss. My sister closed the account and opened another one using her DPOA for my dad. Because my dad was so involved in the scammer situation, he got the bank to reverse it. I am sure he threw a fit in the bank and bullied them, so they did. My sister wrote a letter to the bank cc’d the corporate office and the attorney general, listing the overdrafts that were due to the scammer (johnnycash14@yahool.com) and what the bank did. She also questioned the motivation for the bank to continue to allow this person access to dad’s account…..was it because they were enriching themselves with the overdraft fees? They removed the scammer email from dad’s account and now dad has to send money the old fashioned way….through Walmart prepaid cards. Oy! SMH. We have decided this is his hobby and we have no ability to change this. His scammers are not in the USA. We are grateful he cannot sell his land/house because it is jointly owned. We have used the DPOA on other situations and it has been successful. This was the only one that dad reversed.

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Reply to Tandemfun4us

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I have found it depends on where you try to use a POA. I have seen it glanced over and laid aside while others send it to their legal department for evaluation before it can be used at their business.

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Reply to KPWCSC

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My uncle was still able to make decisions but didn't always understand it. I took over his finances early as he would get confused and double pay or not pay. The POA allowed me to get on his checking account, something that we had always intended to do but never got around to.

I have his medical POA also. Staff always ask him first but usually also talk to me to make sure. Again he gets confused.

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Reply to mikeindc

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Your POA will read immediate if it is. If not, it will read that one or more doctors have to declare Mom incompetent to make informed decisions.

If immediate, if Mom can still make decisions, then you can't step in. With my Mom and I, she asked me to help her with her banking, etc. Having immediate POA meant I could do it with no one questioning it.

The POA will also list those people who can use it.

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Reply to JoAnn29

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The medical POA documents for each of my parents very helpfully read that it was immediate, and that if one of the agents was unwilling or unable to make decisions, or if they were unavailable, the next successor agent could do so. That "or unavailable" clause was very helpful if I needed to do something for my dad before he died, but my mom, who was the first listed agent, wasn't present.

The financial POAs were also immediate but didn't have the "or unavailable" clause. Banks were far more picky about the financial POA, and required an additional affidavit confirming the POA was still current.

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In my state (Wisconsin), there are two kinds of power of attorney. One is for finances. This type can go into effect immediately, regardless of the person's condition, or it can be what is called "springing," meaning that it only goes into effect on the occurrence of specified things.

The other kind of power of attorney is for health care. In Wisconsin, for a health-care POA to go into effect, two health-care professionals (usually two physicians or one physician and one other health-care professional) must attest that the person has incapacity to make decisions for themself.

My mom's health is declining. She has some symptoms of dementia but she is considered capable of making her own decisions when she is conscious. The assisted-living staff and the hospice staff always ask her first what her preferences are for health care. That is, it is assumed that she has capacity to make those decisions. The times when Mom hasn't seemed to be capable of making a decision (e.g., unresponsive for several hours), my sister, who is the agent on the POA, is asked to decide.

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Reply to Rosered6

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Even though a DPOA does take effect immediately, the person for whom it is for, must first give permission for you to act on their behalf, unless they are no longer able to do that. Then you must do what is in their best interest.

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Reply to funkygrandma59

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thank you

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Thank you! It's you again! That is exactly what I thought. I will review it. I was given a copy at signing and actually forgot.

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Reply to Xbox1993

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When I looked it up for my home state, this is what came back:

Even if you're the durable POA, you can't act without their permission unless:

The POA is active and the elder consents, or
They are legally declared incapacitated.

Read the PoA document to see if it makes any exceptions to their home state's laws about this.

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Reply to Geaton777

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Regarding a durable power of attorney, does it become functional immediately at the signing or does the person have to become ill before it goes into effect?

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