My dad's wife has POA over him and is not doing a very good job. Can I legally challenge her POA if she is unwilling to sign it over to me?

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HelplessinGa Asked December 2018

My dad's wife has POA over him and is not doing a very good job. Can I legally challenge her POA if she is unwilling to sign it over to me?

His wife is negligent and is threatening my sisters who live near them with the fact that she can put him away anytime. Last time she did, she changed her number so dad couldn't reach her and then she had her neighbor set her up on an online dating site. She thought that was that. We thought she took him back home because my sisters convinced his wife that they would help. Come to find out she took him home because she couldn't afford it. My sisters cannot take dad and my husband and I are willing. Problem being, they are in Wisconsin and we are in Georgia.

Care Decisions Elder Law Power of Attorney (POA)

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score 0 · Answer 1

Unless the POA provides for successor POA(s), it cannot be transferred.

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score 0 · Answer 2

You don't say what Dads health problems are.

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score 0 · Answer 3

Your dads wife can’t just sign over POA to you, that’s not how it works. She can step down and the back-up POA will take over if he designated one. But if her POA is activated then dad can’t make decisions for himself and can’t appoint a new POA so guardianship is the route you have to take.

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You can appoint someone to act as POA for you immediately. You don't have to be declared incompetent. Then, if you want, you can rescind it and appoint someone else. So there is a chance that Helpless in GA's dad is still legally competent and he just allowed his wife to act for him.

But you are right that the POA can't appoint another person to be POA. Only the principal can do that.

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score 1 · Answer 4

Only your Dad can revolk a POA and assign a new one. Even if there is a secondary, his wife would have to be willing to give her responsibility up.

Guardianship is the only way you can override a POA.

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And the court chooses the guardian. So you could end up with the wife being appointed as the guardian. Or a court appointed guardian that isn't the family at all.

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score 0 · Answer 5

Depending on how your dad's POA was set up, you might have a couple of options. If you can convince her to relinquish the POA over him, then there may have been an alternate POA appointed that can take over.

If she will not relinquish POA or an alternate was not chosen, you can file for guardianship of your father. The courts will then choose a guardian for him- and they could choose his wife, so that plan isn't foolproof.

If your dad is still legally competent, which he may be even if diagnosed with dementia, HE can appoint a new POA. Can you take him to his lawyer to discuss that option?

If your dad is no longer legally competent, I think your best bet is to try to work with his wife. It sounds like she's not terribly interested in caring for him so if the money can be arranged to her satisfaction, she might give up her POA and allow the alternate to take over or allow someone else to be appointed guardian.

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My dad's wife has POA over him and is not doing a very good job. Can I legally challenge her POA if she is unwilling to sign it over to me?

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