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Read moreCan I Take My Mother Out of a Nursing Home Over the Objections of Her Agent Under a POA?
- June 30th, 2017
Q
My eldest brother, who is my mom's agent under a power of attorney, has put my mom in a nursing home. She does not want to be there -- she wants to live with me. Can I take her out of the nursing home?
A
Yes, at least in theory. As a practical matter, the question has to do with your mother’s competency. By granting a power of attorney to your brother, your mother did not give away her rights. Furthermore, if it’s a financial and legal power of attorney, rather than one for health care, the power of attorney has nothing to do with decisions about where to live. Of course, your brother still holds the purse strings and has a lot of power over other decisions. Further, each of you acting in separate directions can be very disruptive. While your brother has no legal power over your mother, it would probably be better to find another approach other than acting unilaterally. We often recommend hiring a geriatric care manager who can help with assessing your mother’s capacity, determining where it’s safe for her to live, and mediating among family members.
Local Elder Law Attorneys in Ashburn, VA
Meet Mindy Felinton
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Mindy Felinton
Felinton Elder Law & Estate Planning Centers
Mindy Felinton concentrates in the areas of Medicaid planning, Veterans' Benefits, asset protection, nursing home planning, elder law, wills, estate planning, trusts, living wills, powers of attorney, probate administration and trust administration and began her legal career 30 years ago as an Assistant State Attorney...
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Meet Margaret O'Reilly
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Margaret O'Reilly
Margaret A. O'Reilly, PC
Margaret A. O’Reilly is an estate planning and elder law attorney with over thirty-five years of legal experience. Attorney O’Reilly graduated from Duke University with a degree in psychology, and received her law degree from Northeastern University School of Law in Boston, Massachusetts. For over 15 y...
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Meet Susan Pollack
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Susan Pollack
Needham Mitnick & Pollack, PLC
Susan Pollack served as Chairperson of the Falls Church Senior Citizens Commission from 1997 to 2011 and was on the Executive Board of the Falls Church Education Foundation. She has also served on the Board of Directors of the Alzheimer’s Association of the National Capital Area and is a member of the Arlington B...
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