My 92 year old father died last month and my 90 year old mother will soon receive his life insurance benefit payments. She has few monthly bills to pay, which are covered by Social Security and Medicare. Us siblings, one of whom has Power of Attorney for my mother, believe these insurance benefits and any other settlements should be held in a bank account FOR my mother, rather than in her own personal safety deposit bank box or in one of her purses and have her forget where she put it. We have suggested to Mom this more accountable means of keeping track of the money but she is refusing. In the past she has fallen for a lot of the financial scams... sending thousands of dollars to different people in order for her to claim a huge financial prize and so on. How can we make her understand that we need to do this for her financial safety? Do the insurance companies/Social Security/Medicare have a responsibility to include the Power of Attorney agent in on any financial transactions?
Even if she temporarily agrees to allow you put the funds in the bank, she could withdraw that POA authority at any time and use the money as she pleases. I wouldn't like to take that risk.