The POA cannot be invoked unless either #1 you are incapacitated ; and/or #2 you gave him permission to assist you with your banking and therefore put his name on your account (not just "payable upon death") or gave him written rights to "act on your behalf as POA" even though you have mental capacity.
I usually accompanied my mom to bank to assist her with her banking. She refused to put me on her account although I am joint POA with my brother. She has dementia and even with that "legally" I am powerless to do anything with her or her finances without dr documentation that she is incapacitated.
So final answer is no; unless you gave him permission to act on your behalf - he shouldn't have accessed your account even with good intentions.
Last fall, my mom had stroke and was hospitalized. I am POA. I stayed in hotel 3 nights and had it on-line paid from bank. Mom tried to sue me for the $400 stay. - disputing that I was not authorized to have it bank drafted. Needless to say lawyer and I had words (I don't trust him) and he dropped it. She has dementia. Lesson - even with POA unless you have written doctor doc acknowledging dementia at the moment or person gives you permission (and even that must be a written notarized doc that is supplemental to the POA) -- you can't touch the elders finances.
From what I know that is correct if your wife is listed as next in line on your POA papers. I used Karp Law Firm in West Palm Beach. I also have a great attorney in NJ. Do you trust your son to recognize if your wife cannot handle doing the finances or will you require him to go to Court and legally have her documented as Incompetent by a Judge? Which by the way you will have to pay for. It is all a matter of trusting your son and talking with him calmly. Meet with your Elder Care attorney with your son. Tell your son you want to make sure "he" is protected and your are protected in case either you or your wife require help, medicaid, or at anytime needing a living assisted facility. There is a reality here that as we age we need to realize. We tend to doubt and trust everyone as we age. I have seen children walk out of their parents lives, say you are on your own, because parents start showing a lack of trust in their children. Parents are not aware of the legal liability their children will have and the financial liability as well as as we age so many medical things can happen and it is our children that will need to help us. I took care of my mom for 5 yrs. I moved her from Florida to NJ, as it just became too difficult for me to fly back and forth and care for her. Care givers were not trustworthy, and my mom was running out of money. If you have reason to believe your son is a risk, has issues in his own life, then of course you need to rethink who is your POA. If he steps down eventually the state can assign a guardian and " they get paid" for handling all your finances etc. And they can also decided your future in many ways. I would want my child doing this. I have heard some stories about what happens when this type of situation plays out. Think carefully about your present situation, your age and see if your son will meet with you with your Elder Care Attorney. It would be wise of you all to work through everything together. I don't know your financial situation but can tell you, if either of you get sick you can run through allot of money, thousands in a short period of time for your care. Your son needs to know how to help you and do things correctly for the future especially if he will need to get your paperwork in place for Medicaid, it is grueling and very stressful.
PersonalRep5484 then he should be sittingbdown talking to her bht apparentlt he is not doing that.You are looking at this a different way this woman is not demential .You dont change accounts without talking to his mother period. Something is funny here.
Don't jump here. I had to do several things for my own mom to prepare her to receive Medicaid in the future. Children are under allot of pressure and the State comes after them if they have not helped you and put the proper things in place. Medicaid has a 5 year look back on assets, and it may go to 7 years. Are you aware that your son will be liable to pay out of his pocket for anything you are Not covered for if you go on Medicaid or need a Living Assisted situation or Home Care. Ask him calmly his reasons, he maybe trying to protect your assets so there is money to pay for your needs. You are lucky if you have assets, my mom left me in charge as POA, and she had no money, I ended paying over 40,000 from my own retirement to support her needs that were not covered and her care. She had no idea the depth of her care and the costs by the time she required them. As we age our children "need" to take over and with that responsibility comes their own liability with the State, Medicaid, and if you need Home Care. So don't jump right away thinking the worst, there could be a valid reason. I was on my mom's checking account, jointly, it helped me pay her bills, and put certain things in place that were necessary. I also became liable for paying her bills when she ran out of money and needed a person to help care for her. Ask your son why, and if you are smart and love your son, ask if you can both go to an Elder Care Attorney and make sure things are in place that can Protect BOTH of you. As he probably has no idea of his own liability as a POA. And he should not mix his own money with yours, as the state sees everything in your name as yours even if some of it could be his. This can become an issue with Medicaid, if it is ever needed.
If you have the where abouts to first off use a computer to pose this question you have your competance still so I would say go to the bank first of all he would need a doctors note saying your incompetant, and he would need your signatire if he forged that then takevhim immediately off your POA and tell him to take a hike.
We would need a lot more information about this. Is there a reason that he did it? It may be that he was trying to combine your banking with his so that he can keep up better. Does he pay the bills or take care of your banking needs? Will you not have any checks? Were you writing checks for purchases that surprised him? He may have been trying to protect you from financial worries if that was the case. We need more information to the why. A POA's role is to look out for your best interest. Discuss with him why he did it. I don't know if it was a good thing or not because I don't know the circumstances behind him making the change.
Seeing that you are able to post a question ....then I would seriously question his ability to make decisions for you. Unless there is something in this issue that we do not know I would revoke his POA and report and question the bank for allowing him to do this.
Do you have durable power of attorney for finances? It's worth consulting a lawyer. My son is listed on my bank account as Payable on Death, but I have yet to talk to him about guardianship, in case I ever need it.
Have sonny boy explain his reasoning... then you BOTH go to the bank together and straighten it out with the manager. We took over bill paying when mom was getting things mixed up. Has that happened?
I usually accompanied my mom to bank to assist her with her banking. She refused to put me on her account although I am joint POA with my brother. She has dementia and even with that "legally" I am powerless to do anything with her or her finances without dr documentation that she is incapacitated.
So final answer is no; unless you gave him permission to act on your behalf - he shouldn't have accessed your account even with good intentions.
Last fall, my mom had stroke and was hospitalized. I am POA. I stayed in hotel 3 nights and had it on-line paid from bank. Mom tried to sue me for the $400 stay. - disputing that I was not authorized to have it bank drafted. Needless to say lawyer and I had words (I don't trust him) and he dropped it. She has dementia. Lesson - even with POA unless you have written doctor doc acknowledging dementia at the moment or person gives you permission (and even that must be a written notarized doc that is supplemental to the POA) -- you can't touch the elders finances.