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Diagnosed With Senile Dementia With Delusional Features. Had A Pulmonary Embolism. Concerned About Mental Health

Posted on Fri, 25 Oct 2013

Question: My father had a pulmonary embolism and was not allowed to go home without 24/7 hour care. He was diagnosed with senile dementia with delusional features (290.20). My father even thought my brother was his brother. My brother got durable POA 11 months later. Since then, my brother has taken my parent's money and my father died 3/31/13. I am the Executor of the Estate and have had to go to court to get it legally certified, even though both my parent's wills state that I am to be the Executor. Since my brother has abused their finances, etc., how do I prove that my parent's were not mentally competent when the Durable POA was assigned, It was not done via an attorney, but my brother's step-daughter did the paperwork and signed it. I am in the midst of a legal battle now and wanted an opinion from a doctor if my father would be considered mentally incompetent by the courts? I had been staying with them (though I had my own home) due to they were out of it, with delusions, etc. I agreed that they needed a POA, but was unaware of the law that if a person is mentally incompetent, that this would make the Durable POA invalid. Please advise. Thank you, XXXX (BEFORE GETTING BACK TO ME WITH AN ANSWER, I NEED TO KNOW THAT THE COST WILL BE). OTHERWISE, I DO NOT WANT AN ANWSER TO MY QUESTION. THANK YOU.

Answered by Dr. Srikanth Reddy (33 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
POA becomes invalid if the person was of unsound m

Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thanks for choosing health care magic for posting your query.
I have gone through your question in detail and I can understand what you are going through.
I feel sorry for your father.
Durable POA is valid only if the person is of sound mind. And to prove that the person is of sound mind, the POA should have been certified by a doctor stating that the person signing the POA was of sound mind and no co-ercion was used.
The onus to prove that the person was of sound mind at the time of signing the POA lies with your brother.
There is a good chance that the POA will stand invalid and you may get your property share.
But all said, the law of land differs from country differs from country to country. You should discuss these issues with your lawyer who can help you with these issues. Dementia is a condition which can make a man of unsound mind and hence any contract stands invalid.
Hope I am able to answer your concerns.
If you have any further query, I would be glad to help you.
If not, you may close the discussion and if possible you may rate the answer for me, so that I get a good feedback.
In future if you wish to contact me directly, you can use the below mentioned link:
bit.ly/dr-srikanth-reddy

Wish you good health,
Kind regards
Dr. Srikanth Reddy M.D.

Note: For further guidance on mental health, Click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar