Guardianship, Conservatorship & Power of Attorney for Alzheimer’s Patients
February 12, 2008 by Mary Emma Allen
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
At some point as Alzheimer’s disease progresses, the victim no longer can take care of finances, personal, and medical needs. Even if family members can care for them, a caregiver often needs to have this made official.
Depending on individual circumstances, family and patient cooperation, as well as legal requirements in specific states, the degree to which you’ll need to go to manage patient care will vary. For instance, my mom gave me power of attorney for her affairs. That was all I needed, in our situation, while I was responsible for her care. However, the power of attorney was requested on many occasions in order for me to manage her affairs while I was caring for her.
A cousin has become court appointed conservator for her mom and has power of attorney, too. This isn’t so inclusive as guardianship, but is sufficient in this case. The judge decided the mother didn’t need a guardian at this point, but will review the situation at a later date if guardianship is deemed necessary.
Carol Bradley Bursack, at Minding Our Elders, discusses the situation, Elder Guardianship – Some Tips. She also points us to Petitioning for Guardianship at OurAlzheimer’s.com.
These articles will give you an introduction to the issue. Each state generally will have its variations.
Have you had to acquire guardianship or something similar? How has it worked out?
(c)2008 Mary Emma Allen
How did you handle signing a tax form? The IRS requires a separate form authorizing this rather than your POA. The way I read the instructions it is only good for three years, which is of course useless with dementia. If they can barely sign their name now they won’t be able to in three years to renew it. I’m getting her to sign the authorization form for the tax years 2009-2011 this year and if she lives longer than 2011 I’ll just keep signing the 1040 and hope she doesn’t get audited I guess.
Hi Sue,
My mom’s accountant helped me with her affairs because there were business properties involved that she had owned with my dad, who died before her. So the accountant handled that. Then her attorney helped us with anything that needed to be filed after her death. I can see it could be a problem if you need a signature.
How do I go about getting a Durable power of attorney. My mom’s conditon had progess and she can no longer sign papers and the IRS needed DPOA for her to receive her refund. Do I need an attorney to process the paper or any suggestions?