What if the bank does not honor my POA and requires my mother to sign documents?

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demstress Asked January 2019

What if the bank does not honor my POA and requires my mother to sign documents?

My mother and I have held a CD together that was due to mature. Rather than roll it over I asked the bank to put the money in a higher yielding fund that offered liquidity, in case the time came I can draw on it to continue her care. I presented my POA to the bank, but after deliberation the bank did not accept my POA and wanted my mother to sign the documents. The bank will send someone to the house to get her signature. I told my mother about it but of course she did not understand what I was saying. The bank's decision seems very unorthodox to me, although I know that some banks may not accept a POA. Rather than give this bank our business perhaps I should withdraw the money the put it in my mother's savings account in another bank? Sure I could have my mother sign but she will not understand what she is signing.

Elder Law Financial POA Power of Attorney (POA)

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score 0 · Answer 1

Best of luck to you. What a pain!

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score 0 · Answer 2

They are just being careful with your mother's account. Same thing happened to me. So we brought her in. She didn't know what she was signing, and her signature is so tiny now. But she signed and the Bank accepted it.

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score 0 · Answer 3

I totally get your frustration. We had our mother set up POA about 5 years ago.....back when she was a little healthier. Now her dementia has really taken over and she is not paying bills (turning into a financial mess). I personally went to the bank with her soc., her account numbers and the POA paperwork. They told me she needed to fill out and sign a form adding me to the account and it must be notarized. Well....you can guess what her reaction was to that? She said no way. So here we stand. Constant untilites being turned off and lord knows what might be going on with her accounts and what scams she might be victim to. We have found POA to be useless. Even with ultility companies.....they refuse to talk to me even with POA. They tell me that we need to conference her in. Yea right. Mom can't even write checks any more. She is 77 and has dementia and she is going to be able to conference in? Why not Skype while we are at it. Anyway....if you come up with an idea, please share. Good luck.

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That's exactly what happened to me. Out of 3 banks, only one would honor the POA. The other 2 told me that my dad needed to fill out additional forms. I didn't even bother asking him because he would not have done it - he did not know that I executed POA at the one bank that I did. I merely did it for emergencies anyway. So with the help of others (care manager, APS, etc) I was told to seek guardianship and conservatorship. I did all the background work without him knowing and it wasn't until he was served papers, that he found out. The court visitor was instrumental in getting my concerns written down. We avoided going to court. Neither attorney wanted that so we agreed on the guardianship out of court with a few stipulations (dad fought it). Problem solved. We have a very large conservatorship account that will take care of him for sometime and you know which bank got that account? Yep, the one that had the POA. They have been outstanding.

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score 1 · Answer 4

demstress I would ask the bank for a detailed explaination as to why the POA has not been excepted. I also think that it is a great idea to close the account. If they will except your mothers signature to revise this account, they should have no excuse for her to sign to close it.

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score 0 · Answer 5

Call the lawyer who did the POA , he should be able to take care of it.

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score 0 · Answer 6

I've had the same problem. My mom has 3 different banks and only one accepted the POA. I had to bring her in to sign paperwork, a complete hassle.

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Do they explain why the POA isn’t acceptable?

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score 0 · Answer 7

My folks had everything done right in regard to POA, and since my dad died in November I haven't had a single financial institution accept my POA. They all want their own.

I was warned this would happen, so I just get their papers signed again. It's not a hill I'm going to die on.

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score 0 · Answer 8

This isn't the first post I've read about a bank refusing to honour a POA and insisting on using their own forms. You're kind of stuck because even though you do have the legal authority you are David to their Goliath. Go ahead with having your mother sign if she is able, you are not trying to pull a fast one but just getting the job done. (Ironic that the ban would accept the signature of someone who is clearly incompetent over a legal POA, isn't it🙄)

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Totally incomprehensible on the part of the bank.

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score 0 · Answer 9

General and Durable POAs are different so it really may depend on which one you have. If you don't have a Durable, you may need to involve the court to get one if you mom is now no longer competent to make her own decisions.

Still - who at the bank made this decision and what was their reasoning? I would tell the bank I want to move the issue up the line and politely insist on speaking to an officer.

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score 0 · Answer 10

The bank is being overly cautious. When they see what condition she is in they will understand.

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score 1 · Answer 11

I would definitely find out why they won't accept it.

Then I would move all my business if it is just a power trip.

I had a general POA and bofa accepted that. I ended up getting a Durable general POA so I didn't run into any issues.

I would let them send someone out, then it is their baby if there is a problem .

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I, too, have a durable general power of attorney. This us the only institution that has not honored it. Thank you.

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score 1 · Answer 12

Tell them the whole reason for the POA is because Mom can no longer make informed decisions. Ask what do you need to have them except the POA. It may just be a letter from the lawyer who drew it up saying its now in effect.

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score 0 · Answer 13

Was the POA formally drawn up by an attorney? Is it a durable POA, meaning it includes both financial and health care powers? If so, contact them and tell them about the bank’s reaction to it. If it’s only a health care POA, that could be why the bank won’t honor it. Read it over to make sure it’s the right one. I got my POA for my mom through Legal Zoom. I never had any issues with it. Yes, it does seem unorthodox unless it was not drawn up correctly.

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Yes, I got a durable general power of attorney drawn up by a qualified attorney last year. Other institutions have honored it, but this bank is different. Thank you

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What if the bank does not honor my POA and requires my mother to sign documents?

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