I have POA, both medical and durable, over my mom whom has dementia. Does her spouse still have rights to do anything?

Yes he does he is her Husband .

Kammi12: Retain an attorney. This criminally minded so called "2nd agent" should not be near or able to access any of your mother's funds.

I'm a bit confused by your verbiage. What is a "second agent"? Your profile indicates you are caring for Mom, 52, with age related issues and dementia. Has she been diagnosed by a doctor with dementia? Depending on the type of PoA, it may not go into effect until she is diagnosed by a doctor (with a written statement) in which case it would seem that Mom can let husband/partner do anything he likes.
It seems like it is time to speak with an attorney to find out which bases are loaded and where all the players are.
Wishing you good luck in this.

Best to discuss with an attorney.
Every situation (and perhaps State requirements) are different.

A durable POA doesn't cover SS.
So how did this "second agent" (whatever and whomever THAT is) get SS funds transferred to a new account.
In order to function with SS you must be a payee.

On to "second agent". What is a second agent?
There is a POA and then there is the "second" or "alternate" who takes over when a first agent resigns or is dead/incapacitated.

I find your whole question so very confusing. If you are POA I cannot understand how someone gets out of jail and takes your demented mom and gets his name on her accounts.
If you are POA you should be taking your papers of proof to the bank to find out what they are doing with your principals funds.

Time to see an attorney or call APS to investigate, because I am really lost in terms of advising you at all. You POA pays for expert advice when needed, and I think now you are needing expert advice.

Interesting topic for discussion. Looking forward to everyone’s thought.

Speak to an attorney near you. You’ll get a lot of opinions here, but most laws like this go by the state you’re in. This forum covers many different states and even countries.

Please get accurate advice from a licensed attorney in your area.

If she has dementia, she can't legally sign anything. Go to the police immediately.

My wife did a POA to her brother with her sister and BIL as backups. Her sister is named as having Medical Directive. And, her will sends all of her assets to her daughter. These documents were done before we met about 13 years ago. It is a second marriage for both of us with one grown up child each. It has been a wonderful marriage with multiple trips to Europe, Caribbean and Mediterranean cruises, and extensive US travel, everything paid by me, including mortgage, car insurance, everything. All was great until she was diagnosed with PPA. Her entire family turned on me like we had just met and married in Vegas. They try to micromanage her money that we spend, down to the number of eggs we buy. No joke. Right now she is able to live at home but of course continues to deteriorate. I have no right over where she lives( apparently THEY have already picked out a facility). No say even where she is buried. I have and will continue to fight these “family” for her care and my sanity no matter what. Of course, once she is placed in a facility, I will probably be lucky just to visit her. Please, unless your spouse is dysfunctional, a thief or incompetent, don’t do this to them. Watching your wife slowly die is bad enough without having to deal with relatives only concerned with saving money for inheritance

Sit down with her and go on SS online. Create an account if needed. You will find the box yo change

No, he doesn't. And he would have had to forge her signature on docs to open new account. That's a felony. The bank would need her signature not just a verbal permission. Turn him in.

Why is your mom still married to him, as that would be a place to start by ending that relationship legally? He wouldn’t have authority or rights to your mom’s money any longer or going forward.

If it's their joint account and husband's money is in it, she can use or withdraw his money as well as hers. I'm not recommending it, but it might be something that would be necessary if he ends up incarcerated again.

POA is just a word until action is taken on it.
POA gives one the right, if the principal is incompetent, to act for the principal by going, with POA documents, to banks and other financial entities to set things up so that they are safe from the predatory practices of others.

If you have not done this then you are really POA in name only.

It's time now to see an attorney. Your POA pays for expert advice and that's what you need now.

Social Security does not recognize POA. Most government agencies don't. She gave permission for SS to talk to her husband. That was your problem, Mom. Spouse could become payee and as such is incharge of Moms money.

Just read ur profile. With Dementia, Mom could not have given her spouse permission. But then, again, he is her spouse.

(I think that “he “in the second sentence is the husband, not the second agent. Assuming that, and putting the whole second agent aside):

I’m not a lawyer but here’s how I would frame this:

1-When your Mom signed a durable financial POA, (depending on how it was written, and most cases) she granted you the power to make financial decisions on her behalf/as if you were your mom. By itself, this didn’t mean she couldn’t still make decisions for herself. The rights were *extended* to you, not handed over to you. (You are expected to use them at her direction , or at least in her interest , depending on whether she can make decisions herself).

2-Because it’s a durable power of attorney, that extension of rights continues at the same level even if she loses those powers of decision making herself.

3-And here’s the key point: right now, does she still have financial decision making powers (capacity/competence) herself? She has dementia But we don’t know much about it.. If she does have the ability to make her own financial decisions then certainly she can enter into a joint bank account. And certainly she can redirect her payments for SS and retirement to this account.

However, if she doesn’t have decision making capacity anymore, then as I understand it she can’t enter a new agreement to have a joint bank account, and she can’t redirect her payments either, even if she “gave her Social Security number on the phone”. This in my view is the key issue – not whether the spouse has some powers (which honestly I don’t think he does but I don’t think it’s relevant). Any actions she allegedly took would be invalid, because she can’t take/direct them.

This is messy. It has to do with retroactive second-guessing whether someone is competent to make decisions. And the horse has already left the barn— The money has already been redirected. If you really think that she doesn’t have decision-making capacity, and that this can be well established at the time she allegedly entered into these agreements, then you may need a lawyer involved.

On a practical level, as another poster said, you yourself (under your authority of POA) can undo these two actions, just as she could herself – you can redirect the money to another account, or Potentially take her name off the joint account. But this is a tug-of-war with the husband, and you need to be sure that she doesn’t have capacity and that you’re acting in her best interest before you do so. Plus banks etc. are a little bit leery of people showing up waving a POA and overriding the principal’s decisions, as they should be.

So unfortunately I think a lawyer would be required first.

My sense of the situation.

If you have financial POA, you may be able to arrange Mom's SS back into an account only in her name. Also to remove Mom's name from a joint account. Dealing with banks though.. is tough!

If Mom & her Husband live together this will keep happening over & over.

Sounds like you need some good legal advice.

Did you read the PoA document to see exactly what authority you have on behalf of your Mom? Medical doesn't mean financial and durable may not mean any or all financial powers either... Your document will tell you exactly and then the criteria for activation needs to be met, usually a medical diagnosis of impairment.