Legal Question in Elder Law in Missouri

Re: Power of Attorney

When he issued a new DPOA to his niece, he most likely revoked the prior DPOA to you. The DPOA has no obligation to keep you informed. In fact, she may have an obligation not to inform you if your father so requests. However, with dementia, there is always an issue with respect to the ability of the person who makes such a request.

If you are truly concerned about the wasting of your father's assets, the best thing you can do is hire a MO attorney to file a Guardianship or Conservatorship (or both) against your father. This is a legal proceeding where you ask the court to appoint a guardian, in most cases you as the son would have priority. Dementia is a common rationale for a guardianship. Other family members could oppose you being guardian and could contest it, and that might lead to a full scale trial on the issue. One thing you might do is ask for the Public Administrator to be appointed as conservator, and you as guardian. That means you get to make the health care decisions about your dad, and the PA gets to make all the financial decisions. In that way you don't open yourself up to a charge of wasting of the estate later on (which is probably going to happen if the other relatives know there is money and want their share).

Our firm does not handle guardianships, but if you call me I would be happy to make a recommendation in the area where your father lives.