Wills and Living Wills

questions & answers

Question: My husband is POA for his mother, 90 yrs with dementia. She has a bank acct with approx $200Kin a major bank. Approx 6 weeks ago, after submitting the POA to their legal dept we were advised not to withdraw/close the acct as a transaction that large could be questionable and "raise a flag". Today we returned to the bank to withdraw $5K to cover her expenses. They said that they did not have the POA on file and need to submit to legal again. A note on the acct from Feb 2016 states that she (MIL) wants to make sure 'nobody' can touch her money. As such, the bank now DECLINED the POA. Can they?

Answer: The short answer…maybe. The following is from the Superior Court of Arizona website:Revocation means to recall or cancel a power or authority previously granted. You can revoke a Power of Attorney at any time and for whatever reason you wish. You must do it in writing and give a copy of the revocation form to any interested third party such as a bank or financial institution whom you or your Agent have business. If your power of attorney was recorded with the County Recorder for real estate purposes, the revocation must be recorded with the County Recorder as well. A fee is charged by the County Recorder’s Office for this service.”

 

>https://www.superiorcourt.maricopa.gov/sscDocs/pdf/GNPOA_FAQ.pdf

 

It also depends on the type of power you attorney you have. If you have “Durable Power of Attorney,” the bank may not be able to deny your POA. A Durable Power of Attorney is meant to stay in place if the “Principal” becomes disabled or incapacitated…which I would think dementia would qualify as.

I would suggest you speak with an attorney who specializes in power of attorney cases.