I am power of attorney for my mother's finances and executor of her will. My husband and I moved in with my mom a year and a half ago because she could not live by herself. My brother has demanded I sign over my power of attorney to him. He does not have power of attorney at all but yet closed her checking account and had new checks and debit card mailed to his address. I cannot pay my mom's bills. He also closed her Chase Bank Credit Card. I have faxed a copy of the POA to them and they have filed a venerable person report. My brother has gone so far as to call ADPS and told them I was the reason my mother fell so now I am being investigated for this. My brother only saw my mother a few times a year and knew I was taking care of her. Now that she has fallen and had brain bleeds in all 4 temporal lobes he is all of a sudden concerned. It is all about the money to him. I cannot get an attorney to call me back so I can get legal counsel. I have put up no trespassing signs because he tried to come in the house while we were not home. He says he is going to file for guardianship and I don't know what to do. I am hoping once Chase Bank gets the POA documents and do what they said and file charges for credit card fraud and identity theft, it will put a stop to all this craziness. I just need to know what to do. Is what he has done and continued to do not illegal? Please help!
He can file for guardianship, but that can be expensive. Will he really do that, or is he just bluffing to get you to back down? How did he get access to your mother's checking account and credit cards?
Your Mom has dementia and is confabulating stories which is sending your brother understandably into a panic. He clearly doesn't know anything about dementia since he's not seen her often. You need to stop her from calling him until this is cleared up.
You need to activate your PoA: read the document and see what is required. It is usually an official diagnosis of sufficient impairment. Do whatever it takes to get her in to her primary doctor for a cognitive and memory exam. Tell them about her confabulations, paranoia, etc. Get the diagnosis on the clinic letterhead and signed by the doctor. Print it out and keep it with your PoA paperwork.
First of all, even with a legitimate POA, banks are very loathe to act to do any banking activity without the senior involved. Without proper documents Chase Bank would never have done what they did do. And sounds like at present they are on this like ants on honey. They need to be. And you should have reported this both to the POLICE and to APS yourself at once.
APS is going to act now, apparently, from what you say. It is crucial you cooperate fully with them.
You will present the document and the records and the METICULOUS (it better be) files you have kept while acting as the POA. APS will interview your Mom, exam your records, examine your files, check with banks and etc.
This may be referred to the court for action.
I will let you know that when things go to siblings at war the court will be the King Solomon and they have the sword.
They will often remove ALL rights to guardianship or conservatorship from BOTH family members and will give it over to the State via the court and a court appointed Fiduciary as the guardian. That is in the interest of your parent.
At the point that this happens BOTH YOU AND BROTHER will have NO SAY in anything legal, financial, regarding health or placement or very little else. You will have nothing to say about current and future assets, even to sales of homes. You will be lucky to escape without fine or sentence if you have not acted as a good fiduciary.
So, gather together all information and files and documentation and diaries in your own defense. Cooperate utterly with APS. Get an attorney if you feel you should have one. I will wish you good luck. And YOU should have been the one to call APS. If you have not, then do so today without fail.