Legal Question in Elder Law in Illinois

Is a financial power of attorney legal if the patient signed the agreement while under a medical doctor's care for dementia and the document was not approved by a Judge in a court of law?


Asked on 3/03/14, 8:52 am

2 Answers from Attorneys

Jonathan Shimberg Shimberg and Crohn, P.C.

A Power does not need to be approved by a judge. The question is whether the person was competent at the time he or she signed the power. Being "under the care" of a physician doe snot mean he or she was not competent. The question is what is the md's belief as to the competency at the time of the signing.

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Answered on 3/03/14, 9:04 am
Steve Raminiak Law Offices of Steve Raminiak, P.C.

Presumably, yes. A person is presumed competent enough to sign a Power of Attorney unless a Court has already ruled that such person is disabled. However, one can sometimes prove in a Court of law that a person was not competent enough to sign a Power of Attorney document at a prior point in time. However, I strongly recommend that you retain an attorney if you are going to take that position, because that can be difficult to prove, even if a doctor has diagnosed that person with dementia.

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Answered on 3/03/14, 8:18 pm


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