power of attorney for alcoholic mother

[LindsayL9]

I am the adult child of an alcoholic mother. My mom has been in and out of treatment centers the last few years, and has recently finally had a therapist who she met with while living in a half-way house who has been leaning towards a Bipolar diagnosis, but does not want to diagnose her until she has been sober for at least a few months, in order to distinguish between alcoholic behaviors and bipolar behaviors. My mother has proven incapable for staying sober for more than a few weeks at a time, so I'm not sure if this diagnosis will ever officially be made.

What I'm wondering about is her finances. Her and my father are getting divorce and although she's been unable to hold down a job lately due to her alcoholism, she will be getting quite a large settlement, as my father has held a high-paying job for over 20 years. My family and I have been discussing setting up some sort of power of attorney situation, with myself as the agent/attorney-in-fact (I have no legal experience, I'm just a trustworthy, responsible family member), in order to protect my mother from herself, so that she can make her funds last. She has been known to go on manic/drunken shopping sprees with credit cards that I would like to prevent so that she can afford to live on her own and pay for whatever more treatment she may need, as insurance leaves behind thousands of dollars in co-pays and deductibles.

Is there a legal way I can be in charge of my mother's finances in order to protect her from herself? Additionally, is there a way to make revoking the power of attorney (or whatever we arrange) a long process so that she can't revoke it on a manic whim?

Thank you for your time.

 

[LindsayL9]

By the way, this is in the state of Minnesota.

 

[las365]

What is your mother's position? Is she agreeable to someone else being in control of her finances? That would make things easier.

It sounds to me as if you need a guardianship, not just a POA. It also sounds to me as if putting her divorce settlement into a trust for her benefit would be best. I am not a lawyer and do not have experience in this are of the law. You should first determine whether your mother is willing to go along with your plans, and then seek a consultation with an attorney.

 

[lwpat]

You may be able to get a conservatorship but you will have to go to court. A conservatorship is only over her finances while a guardian is over everything.

If she objects, you will have a problem getting a court to do either as long as she has capacity. One much easier way may be to put the money in an irrevocable trust or supplemental needs trust with her as the beneficiary and you as the trustee. For either of these you need the advice of an attorney since how you do it will depend on state law and you will need to be sure that the money cannot be reached by her creditors.

One thing that you can do with a POA is to put a freeze on her credit report that will keep new cards from being issued. Of course she can revoke so that may only be a temporary solution.