As the sole provider and supplier for my home, I am not in support of my wife acceptance of POA for her parents. This has and will require a large amount of time and resources extended from my home. The relationship is very strained between myself and my inlaws. Can I legally prevent her from being the agent of the POA. Her father is living on reverse mortgage and credit cards and I am very concerned as my wife is not very legally minded. She refuses to revoke her standing. What can I do? tnx,
Well, if you signed your name as "financially responsible party", that is completely different than acting under the scope of a POA, but it still does not make you liable for the debt. Depending on the financial institution you use, the hospital, care center, etc., they may have a certain way they want you to execute the forms, but the only thing I would advise you to write is your name, followed by "attorney in fact". The two proper legal ways of writing would be the following: "Dorothy Doe, by Jane Doe under Power of Attorney" or "Jane Doe, attorney-in-fact for Dorothy Doe." You don't want to just forge someone's signature, but the legal reality is that signing your name, even without the POA acknowledgment, has no bearing at all on whether or not you as the POA are liable for any debt, liability, etc. The truth is you are going to here 50 different answers from people who want you to sign at different hospitals, banks, institutions, etc., and it is good if you can find out how they want you to execute the documents, especially if they have written procedures, but that is really the facilities own personal preference and has nothing to do with the actual law.
The POA is not different than someone who has established a legal trust. Unless you act illegally and open an account in the grantor's name (for instance a credit card) that you use personally, then you absolutely have no liability whatsoever for the debts of another person. You do not become the other person because of the POA, you simply have the ability to execute documents and make financial decisions that are in the best interest of the grantor, nothing else. If a bank wants you to sign as a cosigner on a loan or bank account before they will allow you to write or sign checks, refuse and have the power of attorney handy, as the bank must honor that POA. In fact, even the bank asking you to join the account or cosign in your personal capacity is illegal in every state.
ff, what you wrote is true when you have to sign something. I remember having to write PR (personal representative) when my mother was signing as executor of my father's will. And yes, I would tell her just to sign by the X. She ought to be glad that I wouldn't lead her wrong. :)
What you need to do is step back and let your wife proceed as Power of Attorney. It doesn't matter if her parents have a reverse mortgage and credit card debt, it doesn't come out of your pocket nor your wife's. Her parents are the only one liable for any debts.
As I re-read your post, it sounds like you wouldn't even let your own wife be your Power of Attorney because she's not legally minded. Are you yourself an attorney?
The fact that she is poa does not mean that they move into your home. Your wife can arrane for their care. She can call the local Area Agency on Aging to find out what resources are available.