My mother signed a durable power of attorney for me (daughter) to act as agent in 2018. We had it notarized.
I printed the forms from the internet. I just needed it so I could get real estate stuff taken care of in her absence as she had to leave the state to appear in court right when she was buying a house.
Flash forward to now, she's been living with myself, grandma, and sister (who is intellectually disabled) since June as she was not capable of taking care of herself or sister. Before that from Feb. 2019-June 2019, multiple times a week paramedics and fire and rescue would be at her house because she'd either be having a seizure or had taken too much medicine or my sister had fallen and couldn't get up. Mother then fell and broke her elbow causing her to be hospitalized off and on for a few months. Once was a TDO.
She is starting to get better, thanks to us and proper medication management.
She went completely broke after buying a house (luckily outright with no mortgage) last year. Grandma got everything arranged for credit counseling to save her from selling house and bankruptcy. She blew threw so much money in the past few years. She's been scraping by each month with the little amount she gets and because grandma and I pick up the slack with other bills of hers as most of her money goes to the credit counseling.
Recently she was granted social security disability and was given a huge back pay sum. Now, she doesn't know about the money yet. If she did, I feel she'd blow through like she did previously. (Deceased husband left her a crap ton of money that she would've been good for years. Lasted three years). Or she'd throw a tantrum about stuff.
The POA that was signed gives me the following powers: banking, claims and litigation, taxes (she owes a nice amount to federal and state), estates trusts and other beneficial interests, real estate, and personal property.
I didn't think at the time I'd need all the powers available in the document so we said no to all the other options besides the ones above. So I do not have the following powers: business interest, safe deposit box, stocks and bonds, commodities and options, lending and borrowing, government benefits, retirement plans, insurance and annuities, personal and family maintenance, special instructions, and gifts.
Would I be in my right as agent with the powers given to me to pay off some of her sizable debt for her with the money she received? It is very much in her best interest as a lot have gone to collections.
I would also make sure it says "immediate". Not waiting until Mom is incompetent. You have to be able to keep her from touching her money.
She already has medicaid. She received it last year during her multiple hospital visits. We had to pay out of our own pockets some of her bills because she just didn't have the funds after the credit counseling took their share out to pay towards some of her debt to do it. We've made sure the house she has still has the utilities going because there are two cats living in it right now. She hasn't paid a bill on her own since August when she overdrew money from her account in a manic episode thinking she had to pay the IRS right then and there when I had told her not to touch her money because the credit counseling funds hadn't come out yet.