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I have P.O.A. & want to do things legally.  I want to know when it is legally my job to take over the financial decisions, paying bills etc. ? I have P.O.A. of both parents.My dad has cancer and in hospital, not expected to have a good outcome and mom has mental problems and possible dementia(not diagnosed yet).She canceled her last psychiatrist appointment and won't take her medication. The psychiatrist office called me because they are very concerned about her. I have a sibling who can't help due to drug addiction. So it all falls on me to take care of them. They have been making VERY BAD financial decisions for quite some time now. I just learned the details of it a couple of weeks ago. Some dealing with my sister and insurance/ bank loan fraud. I have a real mess on my hands! If anyone has an answer, please let me know. Thank you.

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You asked how do you know when it is time to take over with paying bills, etc.? The answer is when you start seeing overdue bills sitting on their desk, or current bills thrown in the wastebaskets.

I had to recently gather up all the financial information from my Dad as he wasn't paying any attention to any of the bills.... the reason for that it was always my Mom who did all the bill paying, and she had since passed on. I was surprised he was clueless about these things. Guess throwing away the bills was his way of making this chore go away.

I took Dad to the bank, and I was able to become a signer on his checks. What I do is make copies of what I pay.... I take a bill and over the bill I place the check and make a xerox copy, send out the bill/check, and put the copy in a file or 3-ring notebook. Yes, it will take months to straighten everything out, but once that is done, it should be smooth sailing. Unless your sibling asks for money.
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Petition the court to appoint a Guardian. Prosecute the sister to the fullest extent. Work with the DA as this is a case of elder financial abuse. If you do not press charges, your parents will be ineligible for Medicaid.
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Jerome, what does the POA provide? Does it state that you can only act on declaration by professionals (doctors in my state) of dementia? Notwithstandig that your mother may have some mental issues but might not have dementia, I think the time is NOW to begin taking over the financial issues.

The issue of insurance/bank loan fraud is a troubling one. You may need to contact both the insurance company and the bank ASAP to get more details and determine if there are any possible solutions, as this could result in criminal actions.
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