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How to Handle Resistance to POA – Part 1
I have written several posts over the years on the importance of powers of attorney and the problems many people encounter when trying to use them. It seems that as time has passed the problems have only increased in frequency. Just this past week we received two calls from family members serving as agent under a power of attorney for a loved one. When presenting the POA to a bank or other financial institution many agents experience resistance. Often the financial institution will insist on the principal – the person who has signed the power of attorney – to be present. But if the principal can’t appear in person, which is increasingly the case as the population ages, does that mean the power of attorney is invalid? What if the bank says the POA is too old? Can that be true? Unless you know the law and your rights, it is difficult to respond to these questions. State law governs powers of attorney so there may be differences from state to state. Next week I will share with you what New Jersey law provides and how to address the resistance you may experience.
The Declining Pool of Caregivers
Another article, this time in the Wall Street Journal caught my eye the other day. It’s about how this country is running out of family caregivers at a time when the need for those caregivers is increasing. Some of my recent posts have included statistics showing the continued trend of an aging population and growing demand for long term care. The median income of retirees has remained relatively unchanged for years. At the same time, retiree debt has increased as a result of paying for the care of an older family member such as a parent or for the education and other needs of a child. Although I have written much about the cost of long term care in terms of nursing home assisted living facility costs or paying for private aides the reality is that there are more than 34 million people providing unpaid care. About 95% of that care is provided by family members. The amount of this unpaid care is estimated to be worth about $500 billion. That’s 3 times the amount that Medicaid doles out for care, just to compare. The problem is that this pool of caregivers is shrinking and it’s happening for a
The Talk
I have written in past blog posts about how best to approach the topic of long term care with a parent or elderly loved one. There are no two situations that are exactly alike so there is no one best way to handle the delicate subject. It is especially difficult when the senior is resistant to making a change or to even acknowledging that he/she needs some assistance and is living in an unsafe environment. It is hard to imagine a worse outcome however, than the one that occurred last month in Arizona. According to various media reports a 92 year old Arizona women allegedly shot her son when he tried to place her in an assisted living facility. Police responding to the scene found Son dead on the floor as a result of a gunshot wound and Mom in a chair muttering, “You took my life, so I’m taking yours”. She then told the police that she killed her son because he wanted to put her in a facility. We don’t have a complete record of what events and conversations transpired leading up to this tragic outcome. It appears that Mom had moved into Son’s house only months
Buzz Aldrin’s Legal Fight
As the population ages so do our celebrities who face many of the same elder related legal issues as the rest of us. Buzz Aldrin is yet another example of this. His story caught my attention last month. Aldrin, a local guy, was born and raised in Montclair, New Jersey and is known along with Neil Armstrong as the first men to walk on the moon. July 20, 1969 is a date etched in American history. It is one of the first memories I have of an historic event which I personally witnessed. Aldrin is now 88 years old and living in Florida. 2 of his 3 children have asked a Florida court to appoint them to be his co-guardians, citing his cognitive decline, paranoia and confusion as reasons. Andrew and Janice Aldrin say they want to manage his finances and his businesses. They say he is being manipulated by people he is unfamiliar with. Aldrin, for his part, says that he is unquestionably competent and does not need a guardian. He has filed a suit against his children and his business manager alleging elder exploitation. As with most of these types of lawsuits it comes down to money.