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I am POA for my 82 year old sister in an assisted living facility. She has expressed fear in past that my husband will get her money. She now wants to marry another resident there. I know little about him. Should I fight this? Think she wants to do this so I will no longer be POA. I worry he might want her money.

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I’m thinking what I would do…
I think I would contact the other family and have a beautiful wedding ceremony and amazing gathering
No one says the “ minister “ or “Priest” has to be real
Let them feel married even if they’re not legally married
they don’t need to know
let them live, let them love ❤️
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AlvaDeer Nov 7, 2024
OMG. I love this one!
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Your Sister has Alzheimer's. She will not be marrying anyone and especially another resident.
Time to talk to the administration of her nursing home. You as POA are, as long as she has no mental capacity to keep herself safe, there to keep her safe. And you, of course now that she has Alzheimer's and is in care, are responsible to handling ALL OF THE MONEY.
If you are not clear on your Fiduciary duty as her POA, then it it time now to see an attorney. Her funds pay for this expert help. It is important you fully understand your job here, as you are required to keep meticulous records of every penny into and out of her accounts.
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Geaton777 Nov 1, 2024
Alva, see my response to the OP. The PoA has no power in this situation. The courts have to prevent it.
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Hopefully the other resident your sister is fixated on is already married (sad for his spouse of course) or declared incapacitated, or at the very least has concerned relatives like yourself who do not want to deal with all the complications that would ensue from a late-in-life, duo-dementia marriage!

What a distressing situation to have to deal with. Thinking of you.
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b8ted2sink Nov 2, 2024
I know-Snoopy-I was thinking that same thing. What If the roles were reversed? For so long, and still can be, it was usually the man whose Family worried that a new woman in his life would "take him to the cleaners".
Your right-it is a concern for Both families, if they exist.
Even if the idea is forgotten , I think this is one of the saddest messages yet -and shows just how much our Elders in Care Facilities, and no longer living at Home, must feel like their abandoned and just drifting through Life. The sister may be just Longing for some Love and Attention from Family and expressions of really Caring about her.
It's sad that Money always has to interfere, so much so that other binding factors in relationships, even among the sisters, become so questionable, almost to a degree of Paranoia. Where is the Love?
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Perhaps you could go along with it but make sure it's not legal - no marriage license. Have a sham wedding in her AL facility, she dresses up, an "officiant" pronounces them husband and wife, everyone toasts the happy couple and eats cake, and they're happy. It seems that I've heard of this happening somewhere in similar situations. Maybe an Elvis impersonator conducted the ceremony? I'm not sure, but it might be worth looking into.
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"She has expressed fear in past that my husband will get her money."

This may indicate she is in a phase of dementia where paranoia becomes a behavioral symptom. My 95-yr old Mom now goes in and out of this. Not every day and not necessarily every week, but I'm her only child and she lives next door to me and we've been helping each other for decades. She thinks I'm "hellbent" on putting her in a NH and taking her money. When she's "normal" she doesn't have these thoughts at all. She started Lexapro this past spring and I think it has help diminish those thoughts (and also depression). Please consult with her primary doctor on this.

Or, maybe she's having a delusion about marrying? This could also be a dementia symptom, or indicate a UTI. Again, consider testing her.

Don't do anything to move the marriage talk or action forward if you think she is really not herself. Change the topic discretely if she brings it up. Maybe consider consulting an attorney (not sure if this would be an elder law or marriage/divorce attorney).
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Getting married again will probably affect one of the Social Securities
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I am assuming that since you are POA and the POA is "active" that your sister is not competent.
If she is not competent then she can not get married as a marriage is a contract and she can not legally enter into a contract.
**I just read Geaton777's response and I am surprised, it seems a bit odd that a person that is prohibited from doing many things can legally enter into a marriage. 😱 Ya learn something new every day!

I do think you should find out more about this "gentleman"
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Looks as though the laws on marriage may vary, but one thing is certain. With an incapacitated principal and you being POA the one thing you DO CONTROL is the purse-strings. You have control of the money; I would see an attorney to make certain that is all done properly at this time. Then a marriage doesn't matter whatsoever; you control the cash.

I think guardianship according to the internet cannot always prevent marriage, but it CAN insure you hold the pursestrings. Marriage means nothing in that circumstance and in that circumstance why should she NOT marry if she wishes to?
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AlvaDeer Nov 2, 2024
Do know also, in all of this, that you need an elder law attorney consult to be certain your POA is now DPOA and activated fully by listing that your Sis is now incapacitated mentally. You need to be the signee on all accounts and assets, and you only. You need to be keeping meticulous records of every penny into and out of her accounts. That is to say you are in charge of keeping her assets safe. And you have been to each entity putting in your POA papers. This is a pretty long years worth of work in my own experience, but important for the safety of your Sis which is what POA is all about.
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If your sister is medically considered incompetent, deemed unable to make decisions for herself in her best interest, then she likely wouldn't be able to manage this on her own nor would a government agency provide her a license to move forward to 'get married.'

Do you have documentation from her medical provider of her cognitive abilities / i.e., dementia, unable to care for herself?

Of course, there is always the possibility of financial gains. And consider, the resident may (also) be cognitively impaired and unable to actually do what he says he wants to do.

Talk to the administrator of the facility. This behavior is not unusual when a person is losing / lost their cognitive abilities, feeling alone / lonely, etc.

Instead of fighting, I would take another approach (as) 'fighting' will likely have your sister react in being more determined in her position - and want to 'fight' you/r advice, etc. Depending on her cognitive abilities, talk to her. How you talk to her is determined by her cognitive functioning.

Do you know this man?
Do you know his family (does he have any).
What are your observable sense of him (management won't give you any of his personal information).

That your sister has a feeling about your husband is either a cognitive fantasy / fear and/or is there some past behavior/experience that would lead your sister to 'come up with this scenario'?

Clearly, it doesn't make any cognitive sense to 'marry' so you won't be her POA. She can change that at any time ... without marrying a person. This to me clearly means she doesn't have the cognitive ability to make these decisions.

I think you need to:

1) find out what her cognitive abilities / diagnosis is.
2) Discuss with administrator - share your concerns and how do they suggest you handle this?
3) Be clear on what legal documents you have / need to have for her well-being moving forward. (Depending on what her sister wants and her medical diagnosis, you might need to consult with an attorney)
4) If this man has any family, talk to them.

While I do not know, I doubt City Hall would give a license for marriage to two people living in an assisted living facility, although I do not know.

The other consideration is: how is your sister's money being handled now? What are the safe guards?
Does she make decisions about her own finances or do you / someone else?

This man cannot do anything with her finances unless your sister has the ability to manage her own money. And, if they did marry, documents can be put in place to protect her money.

The question seems to be about your sister and not wanting you as her POA... and this depends on her medical diagnosis (or so I believe).

Gena / Touch Matters
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Reply to TouchMatters
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Read your POA and see what your responsibilities are. I was always under the impression that those with a Dementia cannot sign contracts. A marriage is a contract. As said, if they do marry, you are still POA and if Sister has a Dementia she can't revoke it.

I agree, ask about this man. Does he have family? Do they know about this marriage? Is the resident aware of this marriage? You may find his family agrees with you. If they both suffer from Dementia this marriage should not take place. You could fake it. They do have committment services. At 82 does it matter that its not real.

Update us on anything you find or come up with.
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Geaton777 Nov 2, 2024
JoAnn, I was very surprised by this and this is probably why it is the scammers' preferred method of insinuating themselves legally into a vulnerable elder's life and assets.

I'm now wondering if specifically adding "marriage" into one's PoA document would protect the principal from themselves in this type of scenario?
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