Getting Power Of Attorneys For Your Parents


by Alexi Jensen - Date: 2008-09-17 - Word Count: 453 Share This!

A funny thing happens as we grow older. Our parents grow older as well. Sooner or later, you cannot help but notice they are not as sharp as before. Sooner or later, you have to start helping them out with financial decisions as well.

Financial scams focused on elders are becoming more frequent every year. Many cities now have an entire section of the police department devoted to stopping elder scams because the situation has become so bad.

When it comes to financial crimes, most criminals are not idiots. With seniors, they look for specific targets. This is usually a spouse who is not used to dealing with money, but has to because they lost their husband or wife.

Scams come and go, but all have the same desired result. To get a person to voluntarily hand over the keys to their money. As a concerned child, you have one way of always terminating such scams.

The simplest way to keep seniors from being scammed is to take the decision making process away from them when it comes to their finances. The power of attorney is a legal document that does just that.

The power of attorney has been around for a very long time. Most of us know of it in regard to medical care. It is used all the time to establish who has the right to make medical decision if a person is in a coma and so on.

In this case, we are not talking about bodily health, but we are talking about financial ones. With the power of attorney, you became a signator on the financial accounts of your parents. This means money cannot be moved without your approval.

The power of attorney is a relatively short document, but it packs a huge punch because of the fact it grants vitally important rights to someone. A power of attorney is highly regulated and you should use an attorney to form one so you get it right.

Discussing legal issues with mom and dad is not easy. That being said, it has to be done. If you do not address the issue, you run the risk of one or both of them being scammed and having major financial problems. It is not a risk worth taking.

With some parents, the decision to sign a power of attorney is not a big deal. They realize things have changed and accept it. With other seniors, the process is not so smooth. Ultimately, your parent has to make the decision, so you can only do so much.

Is a power of attorney legally required as your parents get older? No, but it often makes a lot of sense when it comes to avoiding problems with scams.

Related Tags: family, parents, seniors, financial, power of attorney, elder care

Alex Jensen is with OrangeCountyCareplacement.com - a free assisted living placement service for seniors in Orange County, California.

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