Naming someone your agent in a power of attorney does not take away any of the rights and powers of the person signing the POA form, it simply extends the powers of the signer to someone else. However, it generally would not give the POA holder (the agent) the right to control access to other family members.
Ted, your profile states you're caring for a friend, so I assume this question relates to the family of your friend?
When I see a question like this, I automatically think that there must be tension w/i the family if someone is denying siblings the right to see their mutual parent.
I think that's the first issue to be addressed. Maybe the siblings need some counseling, but in a family with good relations, siblings wouldn't be denied access to a parent. If they can't get past this, I'm afraid that your question and the issue of potential abuse of power isn't going to be resolved.
Someone who's proxy under a POA should be addressing the legal and financial issues, not using it as a club to keep his/her siblings from visiting their mother. If their relationships have reached this level, there are some serious family issues that need to be addressed and resolved, unfortunately.
Yes there is very much tention. The daughter that underhandedly got the POA has had nothing to do with the mother for 10 years. Suddenly she decides to come in and accuse the other children of not taking care of the mother. Her punishment is trying to keep the family away. Although they have disovered the POA she has cannot allow her to say who can visit. Hopefully they will be reunited with the mother tomorrow before she goes to have a surgery that she could possibly not make it out of. If she does get thru the surgery she will be sent to a nursing home on hospice. Please pray for this family there are a lot of broken hearts and time missed with her due to the selfishness of one person. Thanks God Bless
Legally the "POA" does not allow a person who has the POA to restrict visitors. I have seen both nursing homes and hospitals use it that way on the "idea" that the person with the POA would have been the most aligned with the patient and most dear to them so they would hopefully make the best protective decisions for the patient. But it is not a legal right in terms of visitors. Even a court appointed guardian should not restrict visiting unless significant harm would be caused, and that idea should not be stretched to punish other siblings or to deny the ward a visit she wants to have.
A POA can deny hospital access especially if she does it after the mom is in surgery. They will also be able to put a code on the patient so if anyone calls to see how she's doing they won't get any information without it. My mom does this kind of bs, like she will take the hospital room phone off the hook or plug it into the wrong slot so the nurses don't notice. We end up having to call the nurses station and they go into the room and fix it. It's so annoying and disrespectful to the nurses.
Hannahhonee73: sorry I came off a bit harsh. She also pulled out the fuses to all of the back lights of my car. I was on the interstate in the dark. A semi could have wiped me out. Anyone could have. One man kept honking and stayed behind me until I pulled over. He saved my life. She sent someone to run me off the road and on and on. I have been looking over my shoulder for years. This woman is a psychopath. She ran a flat blade screw driver along my beautiful truck from headlight to tail light. She threw the wires from our hot fence down onto the dry grass when we weren't home. She could have burned down acres of woods and an untold number of homes. There is no resolution until she is caught. I kind of lost it with the "work it out" solution. My mother and I are her targets and she has cost me thousands of dollars. I apologize to everybody. I lost it.
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When I see a question like this, I automatically think that there must be tension w/i the family if someone is denying siblings the right to see their mutual parent.
I think that's the first issue to be addressed. Maybe the siblings need some counseling, but in a family with good relations, siblings wouldn't be denied access to a parent. If they can't get past this, I'm afraid that your question and the issue of potential abuse of power isn't going to be resolved.
Someone who's proxy under a POA should be addressing the legal and financial issues, not using it as a club to keep his/her siblings from visiting their mother. If their relationships have reached this level, there are some serious family issues that need to be addressed and resolved, unfortunately.
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