Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Georgia

If he is already mentally disabled then you probably need to go through the probate court to be appointed conservator to avoid any problems.

You can REALLY mess up badly using the garbage forms on the internet. Your situation is complex, and a document written by someone with a mental disability simply cannot be done with a form. You need a lawyer to do the right documents and steps.

I would agree. If your husband is disabled mentally - that is he suffers from such a mental disability that precludes him from understanding the meaning of a financial power of attorney, then he cannot sign. Under no circumstances can you lawfully sign a power of attorney for your husband. Your husband has to be the one to sign and give you or anyone else agency over him.

Do not use findlaw legal forms. Georgia provides a statutory form for a financial power of attorney and I would recommend that rather than a form obtained off some other internet site. I stress again that any form, even the Georgia form, is no substitute for a properly drafted power of attorney by legal counsel. There are all kinds of tricks so to speak that a lawyer could help avoid.

There are two types of powers of attorney - one which takes effect immediately upon signing and a "springing" (called that as the power of attorney is inactive upon signing but only "springs" to life upon the occurrence of some event, like the sudden onset of a mental disability) power. As your husband is already suffering from a disability, I assume that you would want the power of attorney to be effective now, not at some future date.

The problem again is that your husband suffers from a disability of some type and a lawyer would have to assess his mental competency to sign an immediate power of attorney. Assuming that your husband has sufficient mental capacity notwithstanding his disability, then he could sign an immediate power of attorney. If not, then your only choice is to pursue a conservatorship. Consult with an elder law or estate planning attorney as they frequently deal with powers of attorney or conservatorships for incapacitated adults and will be best able to assist you.