Dr. Eva Mor
Author of Making the Golden Years Golden
CHOOSING POWER of ATTORNEY
Mr. H. was 89 years old when I met him. Sweet, social and ever the gentleman, he was active at the local senior citizen center. He lived in his apartment for more then forty years, the last twenty after his wife passed away.
One winter day, Mr. H. slipped on an icy patch on his way to the senior center and broke his hip. He was rushed to the local hospital, operated on and later transferred to a rehabilitation facility, where he spent four months.
Although he recovered surprisingly well, his niece, who maintained power of attorney over Mr. H’s. affairs, thought that he should not return to his apartment and live there by himself. She began looking for a residential care facility or an assistant living facility. He was discharged to his home with 24-hour-a-day, seven-days-a-week home care, and he seemed to be rebounding well. The social worker and the nurse from the agency that was providing the home care services both thought the arrangement was keeping him content and safe.
His niece, however, persisted and warned Mr. H. that his money will not hold for long if he stays in his apartment and paying for home care. Although his estate was sizable, he did not control his own finances and legally couldn’t make any decisions since he empowered his niece to make all the decisions for him a few years earlier.
Mr. H. was ultimately moved to a residential facility out of the city — against his will. His niece promised to keep his apartment till he gave the okay to sell it. He was extremely unhappy with the move, however, and kept calling me to beg to be moved back to his apartment. I couldn’t do anything to help him, however, except for calling his niece. She informed me that her uncle’s apartment was sold and he didn’t have a place to move back into any longer.
What can you do to avoid that kind of situation?
First and foremost, be extremely careful who you appoint to handle your finances. When you give Power of Attorney to anyone other than to your child, assuming that you have a solid, trusting relationship with him or her, evaluate carefully what restrictions you want attached to this document. If you going to empower your attorney with the POA, make sure a different attorney writes the document — one that represents your interests and has nothing to gain from this transaction except for the fee.
It is wise to make everything revocable, so you can change your mind. Non-revocable trust that may look good when you are fifty years old, but may be too restrictive when you are seventy and locked into it. If you establish a trust to provide for your financial needs in your senior years, make sure to designate as your trustee someone who will not be the beneficiary of the trust. With that kind of structure in place, the trustee will have only your benefit in mind when making decisions that affect you.
You may also decide to limit the extent of power that you give your POA. For example, he or she can make payment on your behalf on things like bills and decide if any day-to-day purchases need to made with your money, but may not authorize investments, or major monetary withdrawals. Make sure your trustee or trustees, as well as your POA, are accountable to you.
If Mr. H. had limited his niece’s power over his finances, he could have remained in his home for as long as it was safe for him, living in the place he loved and made him happy.
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Eva Mor, PhD, an epidemiologist and specialist in gerontology and health care management, has worked with the elderly for more than 23 years. She holds an M.A. in Gerontology and Health Administration.
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That story is a wake up call. We all want to think our family would try to do what they could to make us happy, but there are no guarantees.