Welcome to the Taking Care of Tutu blog.

We understand that you are exhausted and overwhelmed and do not have the time or energy to go sorting through volumes of internet garbage to figure out how you can help your aging loved one. I’m going to call her tutu in this post for simplicity, but obviously we get that this will be husband or father for some of you too.

We will try our very best to make this very complicated topic very straightforward for you.

First things first.

Do you have a power of attorney for tutu?

If yes, great! That means you have the authority to manage her money and various legal things for her. Well done, tutu!

If tutu does not have a power of attorney, the next question is, does tutu have the ability to make one?

In order for tutu to sign a power of attorney, she has to have the legal capacity to do so. She has to understand what she is signing and who it is she is giving the power of attorney to.

If tutu has capacity, great! GO GET A POWER OF ATTORNEY! You can contact Legal Aid to help you with this step.

If tutu does not have capacity, you may need to file a Conservatorship to get a court order permitting you to manage her finances. I’ll write more about that in another post.

Note: If you are a horrible, greedy child intent on using your power of attorney to pursue your own agenda against your siblings rather than taking care of tutu, please disregard this blog post.