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baileyif Asked November 2022

What is the policy in your state regarding dementia and being of sound mind?

A prior reply wrote after a diagnosis of dimentia they are no longer able the sign things legally, much less stress for LOs afraid of what they might get to into, including revoking POA. Looked it up in my state and it does not seem dimentia and being of legal sound mind are tied together? Not being of sound mind means not being able answer 4 questions, mostly about family connections.

JoAnn29 Nov 2022
IMO its...if the person is competent to make informed decisions. Dementias differ. Some in early stages can understand what a POA involves, others have no idea. If the person can't understand what they are signing then they can't assign someone to be POA.
baileyif Nov 2022
JoAnn, it wasn't assigning a poa it was revoking a prior POA that I was thinking about... Although my state 4 question rule to determine
Of legal sound mind has a slippery slope after the fact who knows if they could have answered the question at time of signing... Law must assume the default is they could have if asked the questions at the time of signing
AlvaDeer Nov 2022
Whether or not you can sign legally, unless there is a letter saying you are incapable of doing so by examining MD, will depend of the attorney's exam of you prior to signing. If you are making, say, a POA he will ask you specifically and privately if you fully understand. He may ask you questions to judge you current mentation. That is why I recommend attorneys. When my brother asked me to be his POA and the Trustee of Trust the attorney said, right in front of me "Are you sure you know and trust this woman, because once you sign this she can sell the gold out of your teeth". It made us laugh, but it was true. He then spoke with my brother in private letting him know A-H every single thing I could do, including changing beneficiaries on his CDs, selling his home, and etc.
A POA signed and witness by notary is only attesting that it is you, you present ID, and that is your signature. But an attorney can attest that you are mentally capable of understandind what you are signing. It is much less likely to be "questioned" by entities.
I would ask this question of an attorney in your area.

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Geaton777 Nov 2022
My experience in FL (where my LOs live) is that the attorney does a private interview with the senior to determine if they understand the consequences of what they are doing/creating and to make sure if they came with someone, that person is not pressuring/influencing them to do it. It has little if anything to do with memory, and they attorney didn't ask to see any medical diagnosis from a doctor.

Rules surrounding PoA vary by state. I've not heard about "being able answer 4 questions" about family members as a test for their cognitive competency.

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