Legal Question in Elder Law in New Jersey

Re: both parents living with alzheimer's

If your sole aim is to handle certain bank accounts and nothing else, you may be able to obtain a limited power of attorney, as opposed to the usual general power. The limited power would specifically limit your authority to those particular accounts and nothing else. Some banks have their own forms for this type of power. You would not become personally responsible for their debts whether you have a general or limited power. That authority in and of itself creates no personal liability for the debts of your parents. You do face a serious obstacle in obtaining even a limited power of attorney if, by reason of the Alzheimer's syndrome, your parents are not of sound enough mind to understand the transaction. The power of attorney would have to be signed in front of a notary public, lawyer or bank officer who has to be personally satisfied that your parents fully understand what they are doing. Your question did not state how advanced the syndrome is or whether they have a limited ability to understand the meaning of giving a power of attorney. Not everyone diagnosed with Alzheimer's syndrome is automatically unable to sign a power of attorney. That depends upon how well they understand the circumstances surrounding the giving of the power.