My mother has dementia and is refusing to sign POA papers. Is there a way to get to be the POA without her consent?

What stage of dementia is your mother in?

Even a person in early dementia can sign papers as long as they understand what they are signing. It is the lawyer's job to establish that they understand sufficiently. I believe many here have had POA papers signed while there parent or spouse was in early dementia. Often a non family member - lawyer, financial advisor, pastor, trusted friend, can convince a senior that these papers need to be signed for their own good when they will not listen to a family member.

from the article above

"In order to act as someone's legal guardian, you have to go to court to have the person declared incompetent based on expert findings."

In my experience, many doctors are loathe to declare someone incompetent. It is something to be aware of. Depending on what stage of Alz your mother is at, trying to get POA financial and medical may be better. Good luck!

If your Mom has money the cost to a lawyer can come from her, Medicaid will not hold it against her.

Here is an AC article about guardianship: https://www.agingcare.com/articles/how-to-get-guardianship-of-elderly-parents-140693.htm

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If your mom has dementia, she cannot sign POA papers anyway. She must be legally competent to do so, which sounds like she is not.

To obtain guardianship you need to petition the court. You will need a lawyer. The process takes a long time and is quite expensive. It differs by state but I believe you can look at $3,000 or more to complete this process.

Angel

Do I have to hire an attorney to start the guardianship? No idea of where to begin. Thanks so much.

No, I don't think there is. If she is determined by a court to be incompetent then getting guardianship is a possibility.