A friend has given POA, possibly guardianship to her accountant. Who has oversight in this situation?

THANK ALL OF YOU. I WILL CHECK OUT WEBSITE; SHE DOES HAVE A WOMAN THAT STOPS BY TO TAKE CARE OF HER DOG & CATS, & KEEPS HER COMPANY, BUT THE POA, WHO USE TO PAY HER, NOW TELLS HER HE IS REDUCING HER HOURS & HER PAY. SHE STILL STOPS BY ON HER PREVIOUS SCHEDULE (EVEN WITH THE REDUCTION) BECAUSE SHE FEELS MY FRIEND NEEDS HER. THERE ARE ANGELS OUT THERE.

Vogel, it sounds like you are at a disadvantage, being far away. You're relying on what you friend tells you.

Does she have dementia, that you know of? Have any folks who live close by been refused permission to see her? Do you have a trusted friend who can visit and report back?

Vogel, have you thought about contacting Adult Protective Services?

www.njcourts.gov/courts/civil/guardianship.html

This is the page that will lead you to the correct contacts. If the accountant is not in fact her legal guardian but does have POA for her, they will still be able to tell you what oversight structures are in place. You'll feel better once you've spoken to them and found out what's best to do.

Thank you for your comments. The problem is her accountant. He has become in charge with no accountability. The following is hearsay: He's charging me $400. a week.
I know that can't be true, but have no way of checking it out. She's at his mercy. He sold her car (without telling her), doesn't give her much money, and has fired anyone that gets close to her, ie. people that have been hired by him to take care of her, all her friends, and has tried to isolate her. She is somewhat competent, but he keeps telling her she's delusional, or not competent. Now she's confused. We are in Florida, she is in New Jersey. She has always been good to everyone, and now I feel she needs help.
If I call him, I'm afraid he will isolate her from us. She's a retired Phys Ed teacher and
probably has a retirement fund that keeps her financially sound, but she is worried that she may wind up homeless, since he sold her car without her knowledge, or approval. After reading the above comments, I'm really concerned.

Shaking, did you ever file with, at least, the BBB about this creep? Seems like you and Mom can write a book on, "Whatever can go wrong, has gone wrong."
Good thing you are a strong woman.

POA the state does not get involved nor is there a public record. If this person has no family this is a good idea. Especially, if she has had the accountant for years.

Guardian is different. He must report to the state how he is spending her money.

Vogel, sounds like your friend has appointed her financial Power of Attorney over to an Accountant or a CPA, which is a great idea. The Accountant will pay her bills and watch over her bank accounts and stock statement [if she has any]. Now the Accountant will charge your friend an hourly fee for his/her work.

Anyone can appoint whomever they wish to be their medical POA and their financial POA, or one person do both. Curious why you think the State is involved with this? Or did the State gain guardianship of your friend?

You can go to the State's own website, and use the search facility on that to check what regulations apply. I would have thought that an accountant would have a professional duty of care and be held to a higher standard when it comes to operating POA or acting as guardian; so your friend should, if anything, be in safer hands. But I'm only guessing - you should be able to find the official information without too much trouble.