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CJwebster Asked May 2018

My elderly mother signed power of attorney over to one of my sister's. Can the other kids do something to revoke this?

Is there something my siblings and I can do to get it revoked my mom isn't really in her right mind. My sister has convinced her to sell her home and is blowing through my mom's money like there's no tomorrow. She doesn't clean house my mom lives in filth her home is full of roaches. My mom has always been a homemaker and to her if the bed isn't made her house is trashed. When my mom dies, she has no will and if she still has the life insurance policy my dad had for her it's not very much enough to pay for a funeral for her what happens to all the personal property of my mom's that has been bought with the money from the sale of her home does the power of attorney get the property?

W61ha13D May 2018
Probably should be solid proof before complaining to protective services. In some states it can back fire if there's too many complaints without proof. Mom isn't in her right mind? Has she been medically diagnosed? Roaches? As hard as it is to understand, some people have them, depends on where they live, even clean homes have them sometimes. How is the sister blowing through mom's money? Let us know, it'll help some of us out.

gladimhere May 2018
Slow down. Who is taking care of mom. Does she still have her home? Or is she in a facility? What is sis spending money on? Many times Sibs accuse the caregiver child of exploitation when they have no first hand knowledge of the situation. Happened to me as twisted sisters called APS on me. APS closed the case very quickly as they could see mom was getting excellent care and there was no exploitation. Eventually a court action was filed and even after twisteds were told by professionals there was no exploitation and the care was excellent, they didn't believe what they heard. They ended up spending 120K of mom's money on a court action that should not have been necessary.

Many times the Sibs that do not provide the care are concerned that their inheritance is being spent. That was the case with twisteds. Mom's money was for her care and yes it is expensive. I was not mom's POA and twisted 2 was. She had access to all of mom's accounts yet was determined that there was exploitation.

So slow down, offer assistance, try to work together for mom's benefit. Everyone will be better off, especially mom. That is what this is supposed to be about.

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DeeAnna May 2018
Frazzled's suggestion about Adult Protective Services is great. Contact them ASAP.

You need to be proactive in protecting your Mom. But, you need to be proactive in a nice and non-emotional way. Don't have arguments or confrontations with the sister who now has POA and "is blowing through my mom's money like there's no tomorrow". Leave the arguments and confrontations to the APS and your attorney.

How long ago did your Mom sign POA to this sister? Did your Mom have a POA before your sister? Was your Mom in her right mind when she signed the new POA?

I am sorry to hear that your Mom doesn't have a will as that can make this situation even more problematic. Do you think that the sister prevented your Mom from paying the premiums on her insurance policy so that the policy has lapsed or that the sister cashed in the insurance policy?

Has your Mom already sold her home? Did your Mom (with the help of your sister) buy another house or a car?? What is the "personal property of my mom's that has been bought with the money from the sale of her home"? Are you asking if the current power of attorney (whoever that is) will get your Mom's property since she does not have a will? That is a question for your attorney.

I am sorry about what is happening with your Mom. This is an all-too-familiar of occurrence these days. Your first priority is the safety of your Mom. Good Luck and God Bless!

smeshque May 2018
Frazzled has given you very good sound advice.

FrazzledMama May 2018
It sounds like your mom is living in an unhealthy, unsanitary environment and is being financially exploited by your sister as well.

I would talk with APS as well as an elder law attorney, and see if you or another sibling can obtain guardianship if your mom is incapacitated and unable to care for herself and make sound decisions.

Usually, you need to obtain doctor's statements to support mom's diagnosis and assessing her mental capacity. The attorney could help guide you through the process.

In the meantime, it sounds definitely like APS should get involved, as it sounds like this is not a good environment for mom, and if your sister is blowing through her money while your mom is in an incapacitated, fragile mental state, she is committing fraud. It is important that social services know about this if you have concrete evidence that this is happening as it could affect mom's eligibility for Medicaid.

It sounds like any proceeds from the sale of her house need to go to get mom moved to a safe, stable environment like a memory care facility, in order to make sure she gets the care that she needs.

I'm sorry your family and mom are going through this. I am mom's legal guardian now only because my sister and I petitioned as co-guardians but through the process it was discovered that my sister was abusing mom and exploiting her financially as well, wiping out most of her savings. APS has recommended I file criminal charges, which I may end up having to do in order for mom to be Medicaid eligible. However, I am awaiting further advice from mom's attorney.

The main thing is mom deserves to be safe and well cared for.

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