Can Banks Refuse to Accept a Power of Attorney?
Published: Fri, 05/08/15
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Can Banks Refuse to Accept a Power of Attorney?If you cannot view the image below, please read the article on our blog. Q. My cousin's parents executed a Power of Attorney naming her and her sister as co-agents. My aunt is now deceased. My uncle, who has dementia, is owner of an investment portfolio with monthly dividends being automatically reinvested. My cousins wish to have the dividends placed into my uncle's checking account so that they may use the funds for monthly fees at a memory-care center. Wells Fargo recently told them that they will not honor the Power of Attorney because it is a 'joint' Power of Attorney. Apparently the bank would honor the Power of Attorney if the document specified that my cousin or her sister were able to act alone. My uncle can no longer sign his name in order to modify the existing Power of Attorney. Can the bank do that, and how can I avoid it happening to me, should I find myself in a similar situation? A. A properly-drafted Financial Power of Attorney is the most important legal documents that a person can have, and is an essential part of every Incapacity Plan and Estate Plan. It authorizes an agent, sometimes called “Attorney-in-Fact,” to act on your behalf and sign your name to financial and/or legal documents. Several states, including Virginia and Maryland, have passed statutes requiring that banks accept a Power of Attorney under certain circumstances. In Virginia, a bank must accept a notarized Power of Attorney unless a statutory exception applies. Unfortunately, one very broad statutory exception is that a bank is not required to accept a Power of Attorney if it believes in good faith that the agent does not have the authority specified in the document or that the agent has been relieved of his authority. To protect themselves from liability, banks, especially large banks such as Wells Fargo, have been known to reject powers of attorney, for fear of being parties to fraud. For instance, some banks, including Wells Fargo, have started rejecting documents that were signed more than twelve months ago, that are from out of state, or for other reasons, making it much tougher for well-meaning adult children to take the reins when their parents' health falters. So, even with the best power-of-attorney documents, it's sometimes still hard to get some banks to honor them because of liability concerns. However, there are ways to draft these legal documents to improve the chances that banks will honor them—and that loved ones won't misuse them. But it takes careful planning with an experienced Elder Law Attorney such as myself. So what can you do to make sure your Power of Attorney doesn't spark tussles with banks?
Problems with Wells Fargo As you may have heard in recent news, Wells Fargo is being sued for participating in illegal practices such as requiring customers wanting one product to purchase additional ones. The lawsuit also alleges the bank is allowing bankers to create debit card PIN numbers, often without customer authorization, to enroll a customer in online banking, charging bogus fees, and delaying the opening of new accounts or processing a sale until a time that is most beneficial to the bank. If you are a Wells Fargo customer, be sure to review your banking accounts and records, and check your credit report. Check to see if there are any unauthorized checking and saving accounts in your name, and if accounts you thought you closed remained opened. Also, beware if you are a Wells Fargo customer, that I have heard of them not only refusing to accepting valid Powers of Attorney, but also refusing to accept court orders establishing someone as a conservator, and refusing to honor the ability of a successor trustee of a trust to access trust funds. It is important to consider this when you are doing your planning and thinking about the future. Plan Ahead and Be Prudent We here at The Law Firm of Evan H. Farr, P.C. believe that senior consumers should have access to all of the information and consumer protections they need to make important decisions. As you know, one of the most important decisions you can make it to plan for your future and for your family. If you have not done Incapacity Planning or Estate Planning, or if you have a loved one who is nearing the need for long-term care or already receiving long-term care, the time to plan is now. In addition, if you have not updated your planning documents in a while, don’t let too much time pass between reviews of your plan. The cost of a review is minimal; but the cost to your family if you neglect your plan could be disastrous. Be sure to ask about The Farr Law Firm’s Lifetime Protection Program, which ensures that your documents are properly reviewed and updated as needed, so that they will have the proper effect under the law. Please contact The Law Firm of Evan H. Farr, P.C. as soon as possible to make an appointment for a no-cost consultation: Fairfax Power of Attorney: 703-691-1888 Fredericksburg Power of Attorney: 540-479-1435 Rockville Power of Attorney: 301-519-8041 DC Power of Attorney: 202-587-2797 ----- Critter Corner: Protecting My Mother from Scams 
I recently visited my 80-year old mother, who is in the early stages of dementia. I noticed boxes of items that were mailed to her, including tons of magazines about body building and deep sea fishing (both of which don't interest her), and a pile of sweepstakes she entered. I would like to help educate her about scams, since I cannot be there with her to stop her from sending money to these people. Do you know about the major scams targeting seniors today and how I can help my mother? Thanks, Don Targett-Mymomm ---- Dear Don, Sadly, there are unscrupulous criminals out there that prey on seniors such as your mother. According to a survey on elder fraud from Investor Protection Trust, 20% of unsuspecting retirees become victims of financial fraud. The same study reveals that one in every five Americans over 65, or about 7.5 million people, has lost money through financial fraud. As we age, our ability to discern the credible from the not-so-credible decreases. And retirees in the early stages of diseases such as Alzheimer’s or other types of dementia, such as your mother, are more prone to fall for fraudulent phone, mail, or email-based money-grabbing schemes. As a rule of thumb, if it seems too good to be true, it’s almost certainly a scam. With that in mind, since you can’t be around all the time, gently remind your mother not to sign up for sweepstakes, travel giveaways, or suspicious free gift offers. According to the National Consumers League fraud center, once the scam bait has been taken, her contact information may end up on a “suckers list,” where it’s collected and then sold to outside parties. From that time onward, she will likely find herself receiving a plethora of fake mailings and phone calls. The following are some common scams that target seniors:
Of course, there are plenty of other scams out there, including phony charities asking for donations, advance-fee loans, fake checks, fake lottery scans, and identity theft. Read the FBI Common Fraud Schemes Web page or the Better Business Bureau Scam Stopper Web page for more details and be sure to report any internet scams to the FBI and all scams to the Council of Better Business Bureaus. Hope this is helpful! Purrs, Angel |
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