She has suffered a severe stroke and needs me to obtain her personals including vehicle and hold them until she is released from hospital. I have a POA that has been notorized. She is still in the hospital.
Was this POA something the hospital helped you with as a temporary measure? If so, I would say the POA is just limited to what your Mom wants and that is obtain her personal things.
There are different types of POAs. You can assign them for just a particular reason. With you its giving you the ability to secure her personnal belongings. Thats were your responsibility ends in my opinion. Other people may assign someone POA to sell a house or represent them in a matter. Once the house is sold and the matter resolved the POA is no more.
The most common now are people assigning someone to represent them when they no longer have the ability to make informed decisions for themselves and have been declared incompetent. This type carries a lot more responsiblity. It gives you the responsibility to handle the persons finances and carry out any wishes Medical wise they have made. Doesn't mean your at their beck and call or you need to physically care for them. Its a tool. It can be immediate or Springing. Springing meaning that they have to be found incompetent before the POA is in effect. I would not do these type of POAs without a Lawyer writing it up. There not only needs to be a notary but the signature has to be witnessed. And the assigned person needs to be made aware what their responsibilities are and understand them. Responsibilities are set up in the POA.
Notarizing means nothing except that her signing was witnessed as being her own signature. Hopefully this is a well drawn document by a lawyer. If you agree to be notary for her there is a good deal more to it than getting a car, so you will need to see a lawyer NOW and discuss with him or her what is involved. You may not want to take this on. It would mean handling all her bills, all her choices, all her payments, all her assets in and out and you would be a "Fiduciary under the Law" meaning you would be LEGALLY RESPONSIBLE for doing this meticulously and with records and file folders for everything. Your powers would be clearly written in a good document and would include right to sell her property for her care, etc. It is a hard hard job and I did it for my brother as well as being Trustee of his Trust, with help of a Lawyer, and it was STILL hard. You would need to start with the agreement in the POA that explains under what circumstances you will take on this duty (usually the agreement in writing of two physicians that this person can no longer act in his or her own behalf). So start with calling an Elder Law Attorney and take a copy of the document with you. Then decide if you want this job or wish to "resign it" in which case, if there are no relative who wish to take on guardianship, a fiduciary will be appointed by the state. Wish you good luck.
Read the POA document. Some are able to be activated as soon as they are granted (durable POA), while others are worded such that the person has to be declared incapacitated to go into effect (springing POA).
There are different types of POAs. You can assign them for just a particular reason. With you its giving you the ability to secure her personnal belongings. Thats were your responsibility ends in my opinion. Other people may assign someone POA to sell a house or represent them in a matter. Once the house is sold and the matter resolved the POA is no more.
The most common now are people assigning someone to represent them when they no longer have the ability to make informed decisions for themselves and have been declared incompetent. This type carries a lot more responsiblity. It gives you the responsibility to handle the persons finances and carry out any wishes Medical wise they have made. Doesn't mean your at their beck and call or you need to physically care for them. Its a tool. It can be immediate or Springing. Springing meaning that they have to be found incompetent before the POA is in effect. I would not do these type of POAs without a Lawyer writing it up. There not only needs to be a notary but the signature has to be witnessed. And the assigned person needs to be made aware what their responsibilities are and understand them. Responsibilities are set up in the POA.
You would need to start with the agreement in the POA that explains under what circumstances you will take on this duty (usually the agreement in writing of two physicians that this person can no longer act in his or her own behalf).
So start with calling an Elder Law Attorney and take a copy of the document with you. Then decide if you want this job or wish to "resign it" in which case, if there are no relative who wish to take on guardianship, a fiduciary will be appointed by the state.
Wish you good luck.