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So far Mark Mateya has created 171 blog entries.

Power of Attorney Oversight (Part I)

2017-11-15T15:59:38-05:00May 10th, 2012|Power of Attorney Abuse|

One of the questions that I get when dealing with the family members of a senior citizen is “how much control do I have, now that I’m the ‘power of attorney’ for Mom?” First, I usually restrain myself from correcting them: “You’re not Mom’s power of attorney, you’re her ‘Attorney in Fact.’” Next, I will often ask, “Why do you ask? What is it you wish to do?” I want to be sure that the newly appointed attorney in fact knows that I am interested in what actions they take.

The fact is, the attorney in fact who Mom […]

Does Mobility Matter?

2017-11-15T15:59:38-05:00April 23rd, 2012|Taking Care of Your Parents: My Own Story|

My brothers and I are doing our best to care for Mom. If you’ve followed my story at all, you know that we, like most families, are struggling with things like when is the right time to address living arrangements (having the talk with your parents), financial matters, appointing an attorney in fact through a power of attorney and so forth. We never thought about mobility. . .

When you think of “Mom” your mind goes to a picture of your mother. For most of us, our mental picture of our mother is one where she is smiling, vibrant and […]

Self Help and the Power of Attorney

2017-11-15T15:59:38-05:00April 23rd, 2012|Self Help|

I recently heard from clients who I had not seen in about eight years. At that time we had helped them with estate plans. They did not want us to draft anything other than their last will and testament. We always discuss the protective documents (living will, power of attorney, medical directives, etc.) with each estate planning client, but these clients wanted to take care of the other documents themselves. Essentially, they were going to go online, or to a store, to get a form or a ‘document kit’ and fill-in-the-blanks on their own ‘one day soon.’

One day soon never […]

When is a Power of Attorney Not Enough?

2017-11-15T15:59:38-05:00April 9th, 2012|Taking Care of Your Parents: My Own Story|

So what if Aunt Gertrude is being helped by Milly, and Milly is not doing anything she shouldn’t do (as in so many of our earlier examples), but Aunt Gertrude still needs more help.

What if Aunt Gertrude gets to the point where one or more of the following occur:

  • Aunt Gertrude refuses to cook for herself unless Milly will visit her.
  • Aunt Gertrude leaves the water running in the sink, for who knows how long.
  • Aunt Gertrude refuses to care for her own routine needs, like bathing.
  • Aunt Gertrude gets frustrated because her sister never calls her anymore, and you know that her sister […]

Mom . . . Appreciating Limitations

2017-11-15T15:59:38-05:00March 20th, 2012|Taking Care of Your Parents: My Own Story|

Who wants to help? Who is willing to help in your family? In our case, my brothers and I are all eager to help, if only Mom would let us. But I digress. We want to help, we want to pitch in. One brother is much closer geographically than the other two of us, so he and his wife seem to end up with the long oar more times than not, and that without complaint. Thanks, Tim, in case I haven’t said it yet today.

We look for ways to help, to keep Mom engaged, and with varying degrees of success, […]

When the Power of Attorney Acts Badly . . . Now What?

2017-11-15T15:59:38-05:00March 15th, 2012|Power of Attorney Abuse|

When Aunt Gertrude appointed her niece Milly to be her attorney in fact through the Power of Attorney document, she never dreamed she would have to consider what to do if she suspected her niece was not doing the right thing. “That’s Milly. . .she would never do anything to hurt me,” Aunt Gertrude thought.“Why, I’ve known her since she was born. She’s family” So Aunt Gertrude didn’t ask the attorney if there was any sort of “oversight” built in to the Power of Attorney document they were both signing at the attorney’s office that day. She didn’t think she […]

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