Long-Term Family Planning

DHS recently investigated the neglect of an elderly Enid widow, who lives alone and is failing fast. A judge named her Enid grandson her guardian, though the woman wanted her son in Oklahoma City.

After her grandson was suspected of embezzling from her, the judge named her Enid granddaughter guardian. But she failed to pick up her grandmother’s medications and take her to doctor appointments, so the judge appointed an Enid bank. Now, the woman’s son regularly drives up from Oklahoma City to chauffer and care for her, and submits bills to the bank for payment.

Such scenarios can be avoided if families plan for long-term care, including appointing someone to handle financial affairs and make medical decisions, said Jerry Shiles, an estate planning attorney with Parman and Easterday in Oklahoma City.

A guardianship case can cost $3,500 to $4,000, plus some $1,700 annually because guardians are required to come back to court every year to submit a plan of care and a detailed financial accounting, Shiles said. “It’s just wasted money,” he said.

Shiles urges families to plan ahead for long-term care, including signing a financial power of attorney and medical power of attorney. The cost for the two legal documents is about $350, Shiles said. “Without them, you’ll spend 10 times that, not to mention heartache,” he said.

Full Article and Source:
Long-Term Family Planning Puts Life, Property in Order

WI Considering Updates to Durable Power of Attorney Laws

The state Legislature is considering updates to Wisconsin’s durable power of attorney laws which would provide more protection for principals, agents and third-party institutions.

Proposals in both the Senate (SB 529) and Assembly (AB 704) modernizes current law to give people, especially those that may be incapacitated, a better ability to have their power of attorney documents accepted by banks or other financial entities.

It also establishes a revised statutory form that clearly outlines the responsibilities and limits of an agent in an effort to curb abuses of power of attorney.

Committees in both the Senate (SB 529) and Assembly (AB 704) held public hearings last week on the bills which are based on the 2006 Uniform Power of Attorney Act.

Sen. Fred Risser is a co-sponsor of the bill and a spokesperson from his office said Wisconsin is following the trend of other states that have used the uniform act as a model for changing local statutes.

And attorneys in the trusts and estates and elder law areas say the updates are overdue.

Full Article and Source:
Legislature Looks to Make Power of Attorney More Durable

NY Law Firms Concerned About PoA Changes

Dozens of prominent New York law firms are warning that a new state power-of-attorney statute designed to discourage fraud in elder law and estate planning could create “unnecessary confusion and disruption” in several well-established areas of commercial transactions.

The firms argue in a recently released analysis that the statute’s provisions for executing a power of attorney form for elder care purposes do not apply to the creation of valid proxies for the voting of shares of stock held by investors of New York corporations and non-New York corporations.

But they say that misinterpretations could occur if the new law is read “in isolation.”

The statute, in the form of amendments to New York General Obligations Law §§5-1501, requires, in part, the use of a longer, more detailed power of attorney forms for those designating relatives or other agents to make decisions about the disposition of their property if the principals are not able to make the decisions themselves.

Advocates of the change said many older people needed more information about the power-of-attorney process and the rights they were potentially signing away to reduce the risks of abuse or fraud in the elder care and financial planning process.

The new form requires notarization of signatures of an agent or agents being designated as having power of attorney.

The short form for designating power of attorney in effect before Sept. 1 did not require notarization.

Full Article and Source:
N.Y. Law Firms Sound Alarm About Power-of-Attorney Changes

PoA Can Create Headaches

Have you agreed to serve as “power of attorney” for a close friend or relative if he or she becomes incapacitated?

If so, you might regret it.

I’ve endured untold hassles in this capacity. So I cheered when Stuart attorney William R. Ponsoldt Jr. obtained a $64,000 judgment against Bank of America for failing to honor a power of attorney agreement.

Bank of America has said it plans to appeal the Martin County Circuit Court decision in favor of Clarence H. Smith Jr.

This court suit, which began in 2007, illustrates problems if you take on this task — even though a durable power of attorney is a basic estate planning tool that virtually everybody needs. Financial institutions cite widespread fraud for their sometimes impossible requirements.

Under Florida law, a financial institution that “unreasonably” fails to honor the power of attorney is responsible for all the damages the person has sustained, according to Ponsoldt.

A bank may review the document to be sure it lets the power-holder do what he or she wants to do. Plus, it may seek identification, and demand an affidavit or written, notarized statement.

A financial institution in your local area may ask to view the original document.

However, requiring you to fill out its own form is “unreasonable” (in violation of Florida law), Ponsoldt contends.

Other acts by financial institutions that Ponsoldt says are “unreasonable” include requiring a new document, or to meet with the person who appointed you.

Full Article and Source:
Power of Attorney Can Create Headaches, So Know Your Rights”

Accused of Exploiting 91-Year-Old

A 61-year-old man was arrested, accused of exploiting a 91-year-old Alzheimer’s patient for whom he had power of attorney.

Donald R. Stewart Jr. was arrested by a Pasco County Sheriff’s Office detective on a charge of exploitation of the elderly.

Stewart, according to sheriff’s office reports, used the woman’s money since July to pay his bills, including his electric, utilities, cable and credit card bills. He spent $6,000 on her Discover Card without her permission and transferred more than $18,000 from her bank account to his, according to reports.

When questioned, Stewart told a detective he’s known the woman for seven or eight years and met her through her boyfriend who died. He said he was her power of attorney and handles all of her business for her.

The woman is in a retirement home and when a detective tried to question her it was clear she wasn’t in any mental condition to respond. She said she didn’t know who Stewart was, according to the report.

Full Article and Source:
Police Say Man Exploited Woman With Alzheimer’s

Arrested for Exploitation of an Elderly Person

According to an arrest report dated Nov. 23, Glynda Anne Jones, 45, was served a warrant for exploitation of an elderly person or disabled adult less than $20,000.

The victim, reported as being in her 80s and who lived alone, and Jones were friends for several years. The victim is also suffering from some dementia. Jones was granted comprehensive power of attorney in December of 2006, and assisted the victim in her daily activities, the report said.

An investigation started when a bill was reported to be several months in arrears and it was discovered that Jones “had used over $1,000 for her own purposes not related to Paul’s care.”

The report states that the victim’s bank records show that Jones also allegedly paid herself $62,700 in multiple cash transactions from three of the victim’s accounts over the last year.

Additionally, the investigation revealed that $60,077 was paid out on behalf of Jones to her own or other’s benefits starting in March of 2007.

Full Article and Source:
Sebring Woman Charged With Exploitation of the Elderly

City Council Shows Support for Elouise James

Clemson City Council held its regularly scheduled meeting Monday night with one noticeable absence — suspended member Elouise James.

Gov. Mark Sanford suspended James, arrested in September on criminal charges resulting from a joint investigation conducted by the 13th Circuit Solicitor’s Office and SLED over several months, late Friday afternoon. The executive order said the suspension, effective immediately, came following James’ Oct. 20 indictment by a Pickens County Grand Jury and South Carolina law regarding fraud.

James was charged in September with two counts of obtaining goods by false pretenses and one count of financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult in Pickens County and two counts of forgery and one count of obstruction of Justice in Greenville County.

“Essentially, Elouise James still holds her City Council seat,” said Rodney Allen, director of Registrations and Elections in Pickens County, when asked to explain the suspension. “However, she has been relieved of her powers and responsibilities of the office until she is either found guilty or acquitted.”

Clemson Mayor Larry Abernathy, seated next to the placard displaying James’ name, said on Monday night he was “very, very sad” about the governor’s decision.

“I don’t believe it diminishes Mrs. James’ contribution to the council or her commitment to the city,” Abernathy said.

Full Article and Source:
Clemson Council Shows Support for Elouise James

See Also:
Clemson City Council Woman Arrested

Charged With Swindling From Autistic Man

A woman has been charged with swindling more than $300,000 from a man with autism over whom she was given power of attorney.

According to charges filed in Dakota County, the victim’s mother had saved up a large amount of money while working as a librarian in the Federal Reserve Bank in Minneapolis.

The man, who is not named in the charges but was born in 1959, lived with his parents in Eagan from 1976 through 2004, when the alleged swindling began.

The victim’s mother had saved the funds through the bank’s “thrift plan,” according to the charges. The funds were meant to support the victim and his father after she died in 1997.

The victim’s father fell ill in 2003. The charges allege Katherine Louise Rosenthal and her husband, who lived in the same apartment building in Eagan, befriended the victim and his father, who eventually allowed Rosenthal power of attorney over the man due to his autism.

When the victim’s father died the following year, Rosenthal began withdrawing funds from an account owned jointly between the victim and his father, the charges allege.

Bank records indicated Rosenthal had been added as an account holder. According to the charges, she withdrew $9,000 the first month after the victim’s father’s death, $8,000 the second month, $30,000 the third month.

As an attorney informed authorities, those funds had allegedly been used to pay off Rosenthal’s student loans.
In fall 2004, the charges state Rosenthal cashed out 17 savings bonds each carrying a face value of $10,000.

The attorney had Rosenthal’s power of attorney revoked and confronted her about the alleged swindling. She told the attorney, “That’s my money,” according to charges.

Full Article and Source:
Charges: Woman Swindles $300K From Man With Autism

Woman Arrested in Inheritance Swindling Case

Police arrested Katharine Rosenthal, the former Eagan woman accused of stealing nearly $400,000 from the inheritance of an autistic neighbor, early Tuesday at a motel in Baxter, Minn.

She will be arraigned in Dakota County this morning on four counts of theft by swindle, four counts of theft and four counts of financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult, all felonies.

Rosenthal allegedly stole at least $387,000 from the inheritance of Kevin Farley, a 49-year-old Eagan man with high-functioning autism. Rosenthal and her husband, Aaron, were granted general power of attorney by Farley’s father, Bill, before his death in May 2004.

According to the criminal complaint, Rosenthal withdrew thousands from Farley’s account, cashed in savings bonds in Bill Farley’s name and moved Farley’s money to an account she shared with her husband when Farley revoked the power of attorney.

Full Article and Source:
Baxter Police Arrest Woman in Inheritance Swindling Case

Legal Protections for the Elderly

Misappropriation of an elderly person’s assets by someone legally authorized to oversee them may now be a lot tougher to pull off in the State of New York. New legislation that went into effect Sept. 1 — in the form of a radically changed power-of-attorney (POA) document — couldn’t have come at a better time. “Financial abuse is one of the fastest growing areas of elder abuse,” says Andrea Lowenthal, an elder-law and estate-planning attorney in New York. “Older people are a growing segment of society and are among the most vulnerable, often because of their misplaced trust.” But if seniors are the prey, then they often choose their predators — people they’ve empowered to act on their behalf, as agents, in financial matters, though a POA.

To be granted the rights associated with a POA was pretty uncomplicated under the old document. Only one signature was required — that of the principal assigning POA to the agent. In some cases, the agent — usually an offspring — didn’t even know he or she had been named in the document until the principal became unable to take care of day-to-day financial affairs. Such secrecy generally led to confusion down the road, with the appointee often woefully ignorant of the principal’s state of affairs. In other instances, a health-care aide or housekeeper with ulterior motives might procure a POA and persuade a gullible senior to sign it. The signature of the principal was basically all that mattered then.

Now things are different.

“The new power of attorney has teeth,” says Ronald Fatoullah, an elder-law and estate-planning attorney in New York.

Full Article and Source:
New Protetions for the Elderly