My 81year old father has been recently been diagnosed with a malignant brain…

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My 81year old father has been recently been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. My parents have everything in order ie: Will, Living Will, Living Trust, POA Healthcare. However, my Dad needs to establish a Durable POA while he is still mentally alert. My question is – Can he assign 2 designee’s on the POA? We were thinking to have both my mother and myself listed on the POA. My mother is mentally alert but is also 81yrs. and at times has difficulty getting around to attend to banking matters etc. Thank you,

3 thoughts on “My 81year old father has been recently been diagnosed with a malignant brain…”

  1. The Illinois statutory form is designed for the appointment of one agent at a time. You can have an attorney modify the form to work for co-agents. However, you might think about just appointing one agent (probably just you) so you don’t have to worry about two signatures if you need to make a quick decision. Don’t forget a POA for your mom too.

    David Labovitz
    Labovitz Law Firm, P.A.
    1216 W. Washington St.
    Orlando, FL 32805

  2. You need to see a lawyer about this for a couple of reasons. First, wheneven you have multiple agents other questions come up. What if the two agents disagree? What if one of them can’t act? Can the remaining agent serve alone or is there going to a mandatory minimum of two agents requiring replacement? Who has the authority to pick the successor if you only have one left? Etc.

    Second, I always get nervous answering questions on this list when the questioner says they need a particualr document instead of stating their goal. Why do you think your father needs a propety power of attorney? It is true that it is a standard part of an estate plan but at this stage of his life you may be thinking of particular issues. Is he going to need someone to do gifting to qualify for Medicaid? Is there property outside his living trust? If so, maybe the property should be put in now. If it can’t be put in the trust, like a retirement plan then then that issue needs to be disussed too. Lawyers are in the business of helping clients solve their problem. We can’t do that if you don’t tell us what it is.

    Gregory Turza
    Law Offices of Gregory P Turza
    350 S Northwest Hwy #104
    Park Ridge, IL 60068

  3. If your father has all of those other estate planning documents, his lawyer probably also drafted the document that you are looking for. I suggest that you contact your father’s lawyer and ask him/her about this.

    Steve Raminiak
    Deutsch, Levy & Engel
    225 W. Washington, Suite 1700
    Chicago, IL 60606

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