Legal Question in Elder Law in New York

Re: Parent with Alzheimer's

No. At this point, you would need to have a guardian appointed for Mom. (New York answer)

Re: Parent with Alzheimer's

I am sorry to hear about your mom. No, dad does not have the legal authority to designate a health care agent or attorney in fact for mom.

Good luck.

Rick Bryan

New York, NY

Re: Parent with Alzheimer's

If Mom is incapacitated, then nobody can designate someone to take care of her, personally and financially. When someone designates a person in their Will to serve as Guardian or Conservator, that is only evidence for the Court to consider, it is not controlling or binding on the Court. It is the Court who appoints the person to serve as Guardian (personal and medical care control), and/or Conservator (financial control).

Someone must be appointed Guardian and Conservator for Mom, right now. The appointee could be your father, if he is capable and willing to serve, or someone else. That way, you or Dad choose who serves in that capacity and makes all decisions for Mom.

In my experience, when something happens to one of the spouses, it has detrimental effects on the surviving/healthy spouse. So, I strongly suggest that estate planning be done for Dad, at once. He should also make powers of attorney for the person he trusts to make decisions for him, both personal and financial, so that in the event that he becomes incapacitated or just wants someone to take over for him, the authority is in place and he is protected without the need to go to court to get legal authority to act on Dad's behalf.

It is very important that you take action immediately and that you get experienced legal counsel to help you and guide you through the necessary steps to protect both your Mom and Dad.