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Hello All,


Looking for any insight into how others on here have established Power of Attorney for elderly individuals who are without any photo ID.


My Dad and I need to establish POA for my Grandmother so we can pay her bills and make medical decisions for her in the event she becomes mentally incapacitated.


Unfortunately, my Grandmother is bedridden and there is no way for her to get to the DMV for a state issued ID. She has never had one and has not had a drivers license for about 10 years (and we no longer have the old, expired one). She also does not have a passport.


It seems with the COVID-19 pandemic, we could have something notarized remotely, but we would still need the appropriate identification documents. I have no idea how to get her financial affairs in order without POA and worry what will happen if something worse happens that affects her cognition.


This is in Wisconsin.

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Is grandma competent? Call her bank to see what services may be offering remotely. Or the county clerk. If grandma is incapacitated it is too late for POA. You would have to file for guardianship.
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Granddaughter92 Apr 2020
She is competent, and I've been told we can do get PoA notarized remotely with the proper documentation, but the DMV apparently will not allow her to get an ID online. They are still requiring an in-person visit in WI. My understanding is that birth certificates or social security cards are not sufficient ID for getting something notarized.

Would guardianship give us the same medical and financial rights?
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I don't remember my Mom having to show an ID to have a lawyer draw up a POA. If ID is needed, I would think a birth certificate would suffice.

Your grandmother needs to be competent to assign POA. I would talk to a lawyer to see how it can be done since she is bedridden. Maybe he/she will come to the house. The financial is pretty cut and dry. My Moms medical read like a living will. She will need to sign it witnessed and have it notarized. That maybe where Mom needs ID. Some DMVs will come to the home.
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Granddaughter92 Apr 2020
We have the POA document drawn up and ready to be signed and notarized.

She's currently in the hospital and they are not allowing any visitors, even family, but perhaps once she returns home or goes to a nursing home we can have someone from the DMV visit to get her a state ID. I don't know if things like that might be suspended during the pandemic. Wisconsin DMVs are operating differently right now.

Once we get the ID, I believe we can do the notarizing remotely.
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A birth certificate isn’t proof of identity. Its not an ID. Its Proof of citizenship but it is not identification and an attorney will need to see a government issued photo ID. You’ll need photo ID to have a lawyer draw up a POA. I can’t believe anyone would think a lawyer would draw up a legal document without verifying the persons identity.

Most state department of vehicles can send a field agent out to process an identification application & take a photo. Contact the DMV and see if that can be arranged but it may not be possible at the moment because of the pandemic.
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Isthisrealyreal Apr 2020
Attorneys do not request identification until you have them notarize the POA, they will create them all day based on verbal information provided. Usually it is two of their office staff that notarize and witness the signature.
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I may have missed this, but I believe the documents have been prepared and you just need a notary. I hope you didn't use online documents or prepare them yourself? Even though people do this, there's no way of knowing whether they're prepared in accordance with the latest state and federal laws, and should only be done by a estate planning or elder law attorney, who typically have notaries on staff.

At one firm where I worked, the attorney came to the house of a dying woman, brought a witness, and witnessed the execution. Since your GM would presumably be unable to go to an attorney's office, the attorney and a notary coming to her residence to handle document execution would solve the notary problem. The attorney would want to speak with GM privately though.
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Granddaughter92 Apr 2020
They were prepared by the legal services department of my Dad's former employer.

Would a notary and attorney coming into her home mean she would not need the photo ID documents?

Unfortunately right now she is in a hospital and they are not allowing any visitors, and she may be released directly into a nursing home for at least a week or two, and those are also not allowing visitors.

We are considering trying to take her to the DMV right after she gets released, since she'll be in the care anyway. It seems absurd we need to take a fragile, elderly women who can't walk on her own to the DMV (in the middle of a pandemic, of all times) to get this done but everything I've read suggest a notary will require a state issued ID.
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I would call the social worker at the hospital. You may get some help there.
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