By proceeding, I agree that I understand the following disclosures:
I. How We Work in Washington. Based on your preferences, we provide you with information about one or more of our contracted senior living providers ("Participating Communities") and provide your Senior Living Care Information to Participating Communities. The Participating Communities may contact you directly regarding their services. APFM does not endorse or recommend any provider. It is your sole responsibility to select the appropriate care for yourself or your loved one. We work with both you and the Participating Communities in your search. We do not permit our Advisors to have an ownership interest in Participating Communities.
II. How We Are Paid. We do not charge you any fee – we are paid by the Participating Communities. Some Participating Communities pay us a percentage of the first month's standard rate for the rent and care services you select. We invoice these fees after the senior moves in.
III. When We Tour. APFM tours certain Participating Communities in Washington (typically more in metropolitan areas than in rural areas.) During the 12 month period prior to December 31, 2017, we toured 86.2% of Participating Communities with capacity for 20 or more residents.
IV. No Obligation or Commitment. You have no obligation to use or to continue to use our services. Because you pay no fee to us, you will never need to ask for a refund.
V. Complaints. Please contact our Family Feedback Line at (866) 584-7340 or
[email protected] to report any complaint. Consumers have many avenues to address a dispute with any referral service company, including the right to file a complaint with the Attorney General's office at: Consumer Protection Division, 800 5th Avenue, Ste. 2000, Seattle, 98104 or 800-551-4636.
VI. No Waiver of Your Rights. APFM does not (and may not) require or even ask consumers seeking senior housing or care services in Washington State to sign waivers of liability for losses of personal property or injury or to sign waivers of any rights established under law.I agree that: A.I authorize A Place For Mom ("APFM") to collect certain personal and contact detail information, as well as relevant health care information about me or from me about the senior family member or relative I am assisting ("Senior Living Care Information"). B.APFM may provide information to me electronically. My electronic signature on agreements and documents has the same effect as if I signed them in ink. C.APFM may send all communications to me electronically via e-mail or by access to an APFM web site. D.If I want a paper copy, I can print a copy of the Disclosures or download the Disclosures for my records. E.This E-Sign Acknowledgement and Authorization applies to these Disclosures and all future Disclosures related to APFM's services, unless I revoke my authorization. You may revoke this authorization in writing at any time (except where we have already disclosed information before receiving your revocation.) This authorization will expire after one year. F.You consent to APFM's reaching out to you using a phone system than can auto-dial numbers (we miss rotary phones, too!), but this consent is not required to use our service.
*If I am consenting on behalf of someone else, I have the proper authorization to do so. By clicking Get My Results, you agree to our
Privacy Policy. You also consent to receive calls and texts, which may be autodialed, from us and our customer communities. Your consent is not a condition to using our service. Please visit our
Terms of Use. for information about our privacy practices.
As someone else suggested perhaps having her attorney attach an appropriate statement to her current POA may work. The problem with your POA may be the wording. When we consulted an eldercare/estate attorney about a trust, she looked over all our other documents. She told us everything was still valid but pointed out several law changes that left loop holes that may cause issues later but did not specifically say the age of the documents. Because of that we decided to have them redone. Ours is only five years old, but it is a good question to run by our attorney.
What exactly do you need from the credit union?
P.S. The reason why they are being extra careful is because of all the scams that target seniors and withdrawls of large amounts of money. It might be worthwhile to talk to an elder lawyer (look for state lawyer referral programs) to ensure you have up-to-date docs for her, before she dies. Estate and healthcare law has changed quite a bit since 2005.
Another thing you can do is setup an online account in her name with her email and see what can be done online. When I tried to move money from her checking account and could not, the 1-800 number told me to move a few dollars into the account and see if that worked. Then move what I needed to move out after that. Keep records of every transaction with her money. I have an office file cabinet and labeled folders. It is a big job!
I changed her address fairly easily using her online access. I may try to pull out her money with MetLife which has tax consequences. In person, a local bank in her state accepted my POA just fine. Merrill Lynch required their own forms to be signed by her and did not accept the old POA which was done about a block from their office in the 90's. They did come to her house when I was there.
Everyone needs to verify their POA.
I suggest you ask the credit union for a written explanation of why they are not honoring it.
Beyond that, I suggest consulting with an elder law attorney in your area. See https://www.naela.org/
These are legal matters which require a professional, licensed attorney.
States have differing requirements. Do not rely on feedback here as each (legal) situation has extenuating circumstances.
Gena / Touch Matters
You are going to need to attend an elder law attorney if you cannot access account. It is too late, as you observe, to do another POA. I suspect the problem isn't the age but how it was done or by whom. If this is a solid POA by an attorney it is actually ILLEGAL not to recognize it. So you need an elder law attorney to start with some attorney letters to the bank. You may need emergency guardianship, and APS may be able to help you get that; in some states they can make a call to a judge of a court and get it.
Sorry. What a mess. Very distressing. Wish you good luck.
I know from personal experience with 3 different banks and a few annuity companies that financial institutions all have different criteria for accepting PoA. But I've never heard that the document is "too old"... that's ridiculous if the paperwork was executed properly, fully and legally but I guess anything is possible. I would consult with an attorney.