This is very complicated, my brother fell 2 weeks ago hit his head and is in coma and has multiple facial & skull fractures. Sounds like very little chance for a good outcome. I am his medical POA, didn't know I was until the hospital called, and for severe coma patient this is very difficult situation, very hard decisions with life altering implications every day, and I mean every single day. No problem though, this is what my mother would have wanted me to do.

To complicate the matter the condition he was received in indicates he was neglected and possibly abused, he was in a assisted living skilled care facility before the fall. I visited him often and did not see any indications of problems at the facility. The hospital he went to brought this to my attention, I had no idea, everyone from the nurse, neurologists, health care workers say this is a very odd situation and that something is going on. They listed 8 items which lead them to believe neglect was taking place. Actually this is the least of my worries now because he is out of there and I can deal with them later.
He does not have a living will, and has very little assets, I'm sure he owes many times what he has, his health care worker is suggesting that I get a legal power of attorney and take control of his financial situation. She is telling me she is worried that the facility that he came from will draw down his account even though he is not there. I'm not sure if this is her real concern, I think maybe they want me to take control of his money so that they will get paid. I have no intention of suing the facility that he came from but I will reign down upon them a wrath the likes of which they have never seen before.
Obviously I need a lawyer but I am waiting until I get some direction from Ombudsman.
To make a short story long. Is it difficult to get POA to take control of what little he has? I'm sure being in a coma will complicate this. Can I be personally be held responsible for his debts? Can I personally be held responsible for which bills I pay, is there a specific order in which to pay the bills? I realize I will end up paying for attorney fees out of pocket for this and basically anything that happens going forward and that's okay. I will also pay for anything his insurance won't cover in order to keep him comfortable. I've been literally paying the vast majority of his bills for the last 10 years anyway, but I cannot afford paying off all his debt.
If you get a chance say a prayer for him and maybe one for me so that I will have the knowledge to make all the right decisions going forward.

Only your brother can give a power of attorney to act for him.

You want a conservatorship. That is court ordered. Get an attorney hopping right away. Depending on various circumstances, it can take weeks to get signed by a judge, or not, depending.

If he had enough sense to do a medical power of attorney, he may have a durable power of attorney already prepared and executed. Most likely this would be kept with will and trust docs if you can find them.

I can only say that I am sorry you are going through such a difficult ordeal, and the added issues of the care facility he was at.

I hope for the best outcome with your brother, and that you are able to get accountability from and or action against the long term facility.

If he is in a coma, you can't get a POA from him; he can only grant it if he is competent to grant it.

What you will need to do is petition the probate court to take out a guardianship over him. This will give you access to his assets, and provide you with documents from the court attesting to your authority over his affairs.

Move quickly; this stuff won't happen overnight, and you may need to make a lot of decisions in a short time.

Yes, you need an Ohio (assuming he is where you are) lawyer who practices family law. Usually folks who do divorce, adoption, probate, etc. are also versed in guardianship.

Good luck. This can't be an easy situation.

quote:

Originally posted by JALLEN:
Only your brother can give a power of attorney to act for him.

You want a conservatorship. That is court ordered. Get an attorney hopping right away. Depending on various circumstances, it can take weeks to get signed by a judge, or not, depending.

This. A POA is out of the question since he's incapacitated. Contact an attorney immediately.

If the hospital staff are willing to go on the record with their concerns (and even if they aren't), you might also get the ball rolling by contacting your state's adult protective services (whatever they're called in Ohio) and make a complaint against the facility.

Around here, there are a few good ones and the rest SUCK. Mrs.BurtonRW, RN, could tell you endless stories about the people she sees brought in from these places to her hospital and the games they try to play to get out of either working and/or avoiding liability for their own negligence.

Good luck to you! (I'm afraid you're going to need it.)

-Rob

We deal with this daily, as our esteemed esq have said, unless the POA was created prior to him becoming incapacitated you cannot get a durable POA now.

Looking though his documents for a will, POA and other legal documents is a good idea, just in case. If not full guardianship, or fiduciary guardianship over him would be next.

Get a local attorney started on it ASAP. It doesn't matter what his creditors want at this point and if his financial situation is what you say you do want control at least to manage what is left and not let others take funds.

If god forbid it takes a turn for the worse, without a will you will need probate, if he doesn't have any assets other than a small amount of money in the bank and you can't find a will most states allow you to apply for an "order to dispense without administration" this can be done with the clerk of the probate in the county in which he resided. This will allow you to handle his final affairs without having to go through the whole probate process.

It will depend on the value of his assets per state law to determine if you can qualify for that option vs full probate.

Good luck.

.

Speak with the bank manager, there may be state laws or bank policies that allow them to stop withdraws while incapacitated due to the coma.

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quote:

I'm sure being in a coma will complicate this.

To echo the other lawyers, being in a coma will complicate this so much that it will be impossible. He can't grant you any authority since he is in a coma.

Go see a lawyer now. You may well need a guardianship. Perhaps there are some workarounds that will help you in the short term.

Whatever you do, don't take legal advice from non-lawyers or act without advice. You could make what is a difficult problem an even worse one.

As the other attorneys have said, you will need to contact an attorney to take legal action to give you authority/control over his property and finances, IF it is necessary for you to do so.

Another thought is that if you know what his assets are, it may be wiser not to take any action in that regard. You indicated that he had little assets and much debt. You are not responsible for his debts. It may be wiser just to make medical decisions under the healthcare POA that you have, and let the financial chips land where they fall.

You may spend your funds on his care if it makes a difference in his comfort, but you are not obligated to pay his debts. I hate to see you spend money on an attorney and legal action for something that may simply be unnecessary.

IANAL and having nothing to add as to your legal questions but have said prayers for you and your brother.

What others have posted is correct, in that if you do not already have full, durable power of attorney, you cannot get that now if he is unable to give it to you. Check to see if he has already done that, if not there is another way, but it nvolves gong through a lawyer and in front of a judge. You would need to become his guardian. I had to do this for my father, when he got Alzheimer’s dementia. I basically had to have a dr sign off on his mental state being unfit, and that he needed someone to take care of his affairs. I had to close all his accounts, and re open them with me as the guardian of him. Basically, he was like my dependent. I had to keep track of everything I spent from his accounts, as since this is court appointed, the court will inspect the paperwork, and bank accounts if any to make sure it is not being misused. I kept a separate accounting for all his stuff until he passed. Used Quicken, that was very helpful. Once dad passed, all I had to do was alert my lawyer and the court and hand over my accounting info and the bank statement, and they reviewed it, and termed the guardianship. Banks know all about this sort of thing, and his bank officials helped me a lot with things, especially after the accounts had closed, etc and I still had bills, or refunds from the nursing home.
But I was able to make all the decisions for him and handle all his affairs. Kind of nerve wracking, but it had to be done. Might want to look into this, a good lawyer is a must to get you through this. Good luck to you and your brother.