Legal Question in Elder Law in Pennsylvania

Your wife needs to sign a Durable General Power of Attorney that gives you authority to conduct banking transactions. She would need to understand that she is giving you that authority at the time she signs the document for it to be valid. For that reason I recommend having an attorney present who could testify to capacity if it is needed. If she is no longer capable of understanding and signing the Power of Attorney, you may need to consider guardianship proceedings. In either event, you would obtain the authority to act on your wife's behalf and to manager her finances. If it was your wife's money to begin with and she simply added your granddaughter to the account, there are ways to remedy the situation if you have a Power of Attorney or Guardianship Order. Going the Power of Attorney route is much easier and is not nearly as expensive, so you want to start with that if you think she is capable of understanding the authority she is giving by signing the document. If you're unsure as to capacity, you might have an attorney meet mom and give his or her opinion. If the document is challenged, having the attorney testify that she had capacity to sign the document can make all the difference. If you need to go the guardianship route, you will want to at least meet with an attorney who will provide some advice and point you in the right direction. Hope this helps.