My Dad is in VA, I am in SC. Trying to get him moved here, but need POA, which state do I need POA in?

If he has dementia, he cannot sign a POA.
If he is on Medicaid in VA, you will lose that when you leave VA and have to reapply in SC, under the SC state's rules.
If he has Medicare Advantage health insurance in VA, that would also change when you move out of the coverage area.
Are you sure you need all these headaches?

Hello
Before my mom moved from Florida she asked me to be her caregiver. Even though she lived on her own when she moved. In Florida I asked an attorney to draw up a dpoa. Durable power of attorney. She now lives in another state and I have had no problems with them because it states that they are accepted in any state. .

The power of attorney should be in place authorizing you or someone else to act for your Dad if he cannot. The dementia is a consideration, but would not necessarily prevent him from signing POA. The POA does not allow you to move your Dad, he has to agree and voluntarily go from VA to SC. If because of his dementia, he cannot sign a POA, then you would need guardianship in VA, and if moved to SC, the guardianship would need to be transfered to a court in SC. Plus all of the other changes as set out in a prior post. If capable of understanding what he is signing, then you will need more documents then just a POA. Did he request the move? Is there anyone in VA who is checking on him on a regular basis? Is he a Veteran?

My Ma has Dementia and was able to sign.....it is up to the lawyer to make the determination. Memory loss is different from cognitive ability. She moved in with me because of her forgetfulness her major issue was that she was having issues with taking her meds either forgetting to take them at all or doubling up. We had all the needed forms filled out years ago but when she moved out of the original state the paperwork was done everything except the will was no longer valid. We pretty much copied the info on the new state's forms. Pretty much the only thing on the advanced directive that she wanted changed was where she wanted to spend her final days and she changed that from in her home to a facility. She did not want me to have to deal with her death in my house. Good luck to you.

I did this with my mother who was in the later stages of Alzheimer's. She was unable to sign, so I had to go the county clerk's office and file for legal guardianship of my mother. I could have done this in either state, she lived in NV, I live in NJ, but it was easier to get it completed in NV. I was able to do this because she had a house there. I did not have to file again once she moved in with me. I had the court documents from NV. The only time I had an issue was when someone told me that I also needed to provide POA documents, they just didn't know the legal process. I stated that legal guardianship was higher than POA because a judge grants the order instead of the parent. Good luck to you. Most counties have a court website that you can get the information and the forms from. I did not need an attorney. Just decide which is an easier process, for me, it was NV.

Hi Janado....One thing you could do that could prove to be really beneficial, is to at least Consult with an renown Elder Law Attorney within your State as well as perhaps the same from the State of VA. Also, since your Dad is already in an Assisted Living Facility, that knows he has some stage of Dementia...and are already apparently acknowledging to you that they want you to have a POA before "releasing and moving" him...you may need to also, acquire Written Statements from his Physicians, as to "their" own Evaluation and Confirmation, that you, as his Son, would be most "responsible and qualified" in making necessary decisions with the provision of your Dad's ongoing care.

In having to deal with my Mom-In-Law's situation (specified in my own Aging Care profile), when my Husband who has a Durable Power of Attorney, relating to his Mom...and I went to our local (FL) Social Security Office to deal with some matters, we were told by the SS Clerk - "We do not honor POA's ... We need a Letter from her Primary Physician acknowleding that they believe you are the best qualified person(s) to be as her Personal Representative(s) for all her financial and health care matters / decisions." Once we returned with the Physician's Letter, they then did make & keep a copy of the Letter, as well as, they made & kept a copy of his DPOA, and Health Care Directive.

Why do they not honor POAs/DPOAs, as far as the Social Security Administration is concerned .... most likely, because there are so many Seniors, victims of Social Security Benefits fraudulently stolen....from people who become friendly acquainted with the eldlerly person to the point of then, devising their own form, or purchase blank forms from online sources or office supply stores, POA and DPOA's.... convincing the elderly person they need help and someone to make sure everything is taken care of...having them sign over authorization, to which the fraudulent person has the form notarized and yes even sometimes Certified by a Lawyer. [This I personally experienced when a very, very dear, elderly Father-like friend of mine, got taken by a guy he rented a room in his home to - the guy took him for 10 months of his SS Benefits at $900+ a month. Although the guy was removed from the property, and case filed as to the fraud....the case went no further, because my friend had signed a POA (store bought) Form ...signed and notarized...giving the guy all "legal" right to handle his financials and affairs, etc.]

The hospitals, physicians, specialists, health insurance companies, and any other organization he (we) had to deal with relating to his Mom, as well as other Governmental organizations ... all simply honored his DPOA. Some even had an additiona Form he could complete, authorizing them to be able to call and speak with me (his wife) as an additional first contact and representative as to necessary information or inquiries we needed.

Also...in closing.....you are wanting to move your Dad closer to you... take into consideration especially with his Physicians, including a Psychiatric Physician's, evaluation as to whether it would be to the best interest of his overall mental and physical well-being..for him to actually make such a big transition. This can be dependant on how long he has already been in the Assisted Living environment, he's been so familar with. It may not be "your benefit" that is of priority here, since he is 92. Just a respectable consideration.

I hope my sharing has helped you....God Bless.....

A POA is legal in every state, except with Social Security. Depending on his level of dementia and what he understands a signature could be obtained, however, he would need to verbally state what he wishes. You will also need a medical power of attorney for the nursing home. Go up to where he is located and get him to sign the documents, if he understands. Just an FYI - a notarized copy can be obtained at UPS without them making any judgment about his mental status. No bank will notarize a document when a mental status is in question. Good luck!

Your POA is good wherever you go, like ferris1 said, except for Social Security matters. What I haven't seen mentioned that you might want to look into is a DMPOA, Durable Medical Power of Attorney. This is something we did change when my mother moved from CO to PA to live with us. Different states have different requirements and forms so it's best to do that once you have him moved. Keep in mind with the DMPOA, since you have POA, if he's unable to sign, you can sign it for him. Some places require a notary seal, others witnesses. Check with a local agency on aging and they should be able to guide you properly for what's required in SC.

BustedBronc - I did mention a MPOA. Missed that, and Broncos missed too!

ferris1 - I sure did miss your mention of MPOA. Seems the Cardinals missed as well.

Besides social security, the Veterans do not recognize a POA. They have their own process, which the veteran has to sign, regardless of the veteran's condition.

We moved mom out of state as she asked us to since she had no one left in her former state. She's back at her childhood home town and YES, we had DPOA and Living Trust and letters from doctors about her dementia and other docs that were prepared in 1996. I wasn't aware of any other docs needed. The local health care facility (incl hospital) is in yet another state. So far it all good. I hope I'm not missing anything.

Read right after "wishes". I don't like football because eventually the guys will probably get dementia...

You can be named Representative Payee for Social Security, it is a separate process that you typically must go to a local office to complete.

And DHS or Medicaid was actually easier than POA for me to be allowed to represent my mom at a denial appeal hearing (she had failed to get paperwork they needed)

I am a little confused. I have DPOA for alz husband who is at home. His SS ck is sent to our ck acct. I pay all bills. What reason will I need to deal w SS for him that I need to get the "Represenative payee"?

If it's going into a joint checking account and you can access it, you might not really need it. In my case it was going into a different account which I needed to access to move money around to cover Mom's assisted living bills and household bills as well as anything Dad needed, like the 1K co-pays per hospital stay and premiums for Medicare, plus there was a NH bill he incurred before his Medicaid came through - the NH actually tried to get rep payee rather than waiting for that at one point. It just came up in the thread that Social Security does not use POA, so if needed, that's what you apply for. I remember doing most of it on a web site but I had to go in for a brief face to face interview too.

I moved my Dad from a memory care unit in NJ to a memory care unit in CA where I live because nobody was visiting him any more in NJ including my brother and I was managing everything from 3000 miles away. A neurologist had diagnosed him with moderate dementia, however he was and is very conversational and intelligent. His dementia is specific to his short term memory.

While he was living in NJ I flew back and obtained a durable POA and a medical POA that includes advance directives. These two documents have been invaluable in managing my Dad's care because I got a good attorney who took the time to word everything very precisely and take my Dad's personal interests in to consideration (as I've been told...I am not an attorney myself).

That being said, once I flew him from NJ to where I live in CA, he absolutely did not want to sign into a facility where he would not be able to come and go as he pleased. He wanted to live with me, however he is a recovering alcoholic that wanders and has previously been missing for days on end. Social workers had strongly recommended memory care even when living in the same town as myself. Reason being he would return to drinking if left to his own devices.

Yet at least at this facility in CA he had to sign himself in. This was different than the facility in NJ, where a POA family member could sign him in. The rules seem to be rather arbitrary from facility to facility. I feel that because my Dad and I are very close and he places absolute trust in me, he finally listened to me and signed himself in. He has been there for two years now and I visit him 2-3x per week and he is very happy and healthy.

So just be aware even with all the ducks in a row there may be some bumps. But the POAs from NJ are honored in CA to answer your question. That's the easy part. Just don't skimp on an attorney, it will save you trouble in the long run if your POAs are written well and are comprehensive, durable (meaning they don't have to be renewed) and based on actual consideration of your parent's wishes.

Contact the local area agency on aging and ask for a legal referral for your father. They can send an attorney out to speak with him regarding a POA, if he is able to answer questions reasonable and the attorney feels he knows whats what, then he should be able to complete the poa. You can be named as his health care agent without him signing any forms.

My Dad's attorney preferred that my Dad sign the forms if able and willing. An attorney has a right to refuse naming a POA without consent.