Power of Attorney Abuse

The problem inherent when appointing someone as your attorney in fact (through the power of attorney document) is oversight. Who is watching the person who you have appointed as your attorney in fact? And if you are saying “Why, my niece is my ‘power of attorney.’ She would never do anything that would cause me harm.” If you’ve just had this thought, you need to go back to the beginning of this blog and review some of the things that my fictional character “Milly” has done to her “Aunt Gertrude.”

These characters are fictional, but I have personally witnessed everything […]

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 […]

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 […]