Follow
Share

My step daughter got a POA on her dad my husband without us knowing. How can you do that? Yes he is in rehab after having a stroke.

This question has been closed for answers. Ask a New Question.
Find Care & Housing
If she has one, she had to get a notary to witness his signature on the document. So it's possible he signed one for her and never told you or did it long ago and he forgot about it -OR- she got someone to witness his signature and notarize the document after his stroke. . .which would be questionable if he is unable to communicate.
Helpful Answer (0)
Report

No, any one person (in this case, your step daughter) cannot become someone's agent (Power of Attorney) without their knowledge since the process must involve the principal (in this case, your husband) signing the document in the presence of a Notary Public along with the agent (your step daughter).
Helpful Answer (1)
Report

No, your husband had to appoint your step-daughter as his POA, she can't appoint herself as his POA. If your step-daughter had her father sign something, then your husband needs to revoke it. If he signed nothing, she is not his POA.

You may want to ask your husband if agreed to have his daughter as his POA; if he signed something his daughter gave him and go from there.

My parents appointed me as their POA - their attorney drew up the document and signed it. (We later had to have it redrawn as it didn't include everything they wanted in it.) My father has since died and as far as my mother while she is still competent she can revoke it at any time.
Helpful Answer (1)
Report

You should be on phone immediately with your local Council on Aging, or lawyer who handles family affairs. To get POA without your knowledge (or his consent) sends red flags. Is it a medical or financial POA? That would have to be granted by a judge with her submitting evidence of need, and filed with clerk of court in your county. Above all, she is required to provide an original copy. Make sure its not just a downloaded form with forged signatures. Call that lawyer!
Helpful Answer (0)
Report

5 days and no response from the OP? Too much info asked by others and no replies are forthcoming.
Helpful Answer (3)
Report

Your husband needs to sign the POA and authorize whomever to have the power of attorney. In short, your step-daughter can not do this without his consent. If your husband is not mentally competent, then he can not give consent. Consult your attorney.
Helpful Answer (0)
Report

Forged his signature?
Helpful Answer (0)
Report

How long have you, and your husband been married ? Perhaps your husband and his daughter set this up , year’s ago .He May not remember this since his stroke .
Helpful Answer (1)
Report

There isn’t a way for her to do that without your husband’s knowledge. Is he just scared of what you’d say to him if he told you the truth. I got a poa on my mom but they spoke with her verified her identity and etc before proceeding with the signing of poa.
Helpful Answer (1)
Report

There's something you're leaving out here that one of them (the daughter or father) are not telling you.
If the daughter petitioned the probate court they would have appointed her conservator not POA.
If such is the case the court would have appointed a lawyer for him to represent his interests.
Who signed the paperwork to admit him into rehab after his stroke?
You as his legal spouse have the right to see that paperwork. There will also be a copy of the POA the daughter has. The rehab is obligated to be transparent with you because you are the legal spouse.
Then connect the dots and you'll find out what happened. The POA will be dated, there will be signatures on it and if it was done at a lawyer's office their stamp and information will be on it.
Helpful Answer (5)
Report
my2cents Mar 2021
This isn't about probate. The post says he is in rehab.
(0)
Report
I work for my attorney husband who draws up POAs regularly. They must be notarized with 1 or 2 witnesses. The first question asked is : Is the one granting the POA in full knowledge of what this means? There are also limited POAs.
Helpful Answer (0)
Report

A lawyer is not required to grant a POA, but your husband would have had to sign it in front of a notary public and perhaps a witness, depending on where he lives.

Sounds a little iffy, unless this is something your husband granted a long time ago. My husband and I are only in our late fifties, and we've already done POAs naming our son, but I doubt he'll need to use it for 30 years. Your step-daughter could conceivably have a very old POA in hand. I'd ask the rehab hospital to see a copy of it if she's given it to them.
Helpful Answer (6)
Report

I would ask her to produce the POA. Your husband needed to be there when he assigned her. He needs to sign the POA and have witnesses sign it. Check with the rehab and see if something was done there or they have a copy.
Helpful Answer (6)
Report

No, of course not. YOU are the one who confers upon a person of your choice a POA. It is done by YOU in a Lawyer's office (hopefully.). Now you do not say if your husband has dementia or is of sound mind. If he conferred POA upon his daughter by his own choice and with a Lawyer and witnesses, then that is likely legal. If, however, your stepdaughter did this action on her own with some online paperwork and her own witnesses you need to seek a Lawyer and need to file for guardianship of your husband. Guardianship or conservatorship outweighs POA. Speak with your husband and ask him if he remembers signing any papers. If not, it may be time to have your OWN lawyer visit and do another POA with you as the POA. My brother and I did this, in fact, while he was in Hospital and in Rehab. His Lawyer attended where he was, examined him for competency, and the POA and Trustee of Trust work was done. Most Lawyers are also Notaries and can do this work with one single visit. You may be present though he will want to speak with your husband with you not present in order to know his wishes and examine for competency to make this decision.
Helpful Answer (9)
Report

There is a new movie 2020 about caregiving that shows just how criminals can get POA and guardianship.
It is called: "I Care A Lot"
if you can get past the murder, violence, mayhem and immorality of it all.
Seen on Netflix.

Rosamond Pike
Peter Dinklage
Eiza Gonzalez
Dianne Wiest
Helpful Answer (0)
Report
Geaton777 Mar 2021
Sendhelp, I watched this and in regards to how it portrays guardianship it is largely a work of fiction. Articles about this movie state that it's "based on real-life events", which can mean a thing happened and now selective bits and pieces are put into a script and now the story is wildly overblown. The producers never say which "real-life" events they are referencing. Why don't they make a movie about predatory caregivers? I have a waiting script in my own family. This happens far more often than a guardianship scam. Also, guardianship and conservatorship laws differ from state to state, so who knows what loop-holes are being portrayed. The entertainment industry is not the bastion of accurate history because if it doesn't have "drama" it doesn't sell (so they add it in) and there's no accountability for "inaccuracy" in what they put out. It was a fictional story that incorporated "some" factual things, just like any other fictional production. I'm going on about this because it is recklessly scaring people about something that has almost no chance of ever happening in their lives. Lutheran Social Services managed by stefFIL's affairs and they did a transparent and excellent job while seeking our input about his comfort.
(2)
Report
They could get one without you knowing about it, but not without your husband knowing about it, as he would have had to sign the paperwork(usually in front of a lawyer)and must be of sound mind to do so. Is this something perhaps that they both agreed upon years ago? I would certainly ask to see the POA paperwork, and make sure that it's legal and that in fact it is his signature.
Helpful Answer (6)
Report

No. Whatever legal authority your stepdaughter obtained to act for her father, your husband, it cannot have been a power of attorney - or at least not without his knowing about it.

Is it possible he did know but either didn't want to or didn't think to tell you about it?
Helpful Answer (3)
Report

A person must grant POA. Did your husband sign something for her?
Helpful Answer (2)
Report

This question has been closed for answers. Ask a New Question.
Ask a Question
Subscribe to
Our Newsletter