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Home >> Special Situations >> Powers of Attorney
Dealing with Elderly Mother's Finances
My eighty-seven year old mother lives with my spouse and I. After she was in the hospital, she was briefily in a nursing home. During this time, my sister had her sign a consent to have her (sister's) name put on mom's checking account. My mom's house has been sitting empty for a year and a half, and my sister gets all of mom's mail from the post office. My sister states the reason she still has her name on mom's checking account is so that she can take care of mom's finances. My mom is still of very sound mind with little financial responsibilities except the utilities of her house.
My sister is planning on putting my mom's house up for sale, as mom wishes. If the money from the sale of the home is put in the checking account, is this money automatically considered to be my sister's money? The day may come when I am no longer able to take care of mom since I work full time and she may need to go into assisted living. What are the legal implications? I also have reason to believe that my sister may be using mom's monies for her personal use. I have no idea how much is in mom's checking account, but there should be several thousand, since I buy all of her groceries.
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 As far as your mother's account is concerned, as long as your sister signs on the account she will be able to access any money that might be added to the account, including the money from the sale of your mother's home. Whether she is entitled to treat that money as her own is not a banking issue. It is a legal and tax issue.
If you have concerns about the use of your mother's funds, sit down and have a family discussion among the three of you. It might also be a good idea for the three of you to sit with an attorney or estate planner who is trained in assisting seniors in arranging finances in ways to protect their interests, provide for their needs and for their heirs, among other goals. A local senior center or council on aging will be able to suggest qualified and responsible professionals for those tasks.
Published on BankingQuestions.com 4/13/09
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