Chapter 6 - MY MOTHER DID SIGN THE POWER OF ATTORNEY
This was the part I did not expect.
The power of attorney was real.
Mom had signed it.
The notary confirmed she appeared voluntarily.
The signature was authentic.
For about twelve hours, that devastated me.
Then Rachel explained.
“A valid signature does not end the inquiry.”
Mom remembered being told the document allowed Wendy to communicate with doctors and help pay bills while I traveled.
The document itself was much broader.
Could Mom have read it?
Yes.
Did she understand it?
That became the real question.
There was no evidence she lacked capacity at signing.
In fact, medical records suggested she likely had capacity.
So the power itself was not magically void because we disliked what happened afterward.
However—
agents under powers of attorney owe legal duties.
Authority is not ownership.
A person authorized to manage another person’s money generally cannot simply treat it as their own.
The relevant issue became Wendy’s conduct after receiving power.
Transfers.
Self-payments.
Related-party payments to Mason.
The home-equity attempt.
Whether she acted in Mom’s interest.
Whether disclosures occurred.
Those questions were far stronger than pretending the signature never happened.
Mom revoked the power of attorney with independent legal counsel.
A professional fiduciary helped her temporarily organize accounts until she felt comfortable managing again.
Not me.
That was Mom’s decision.
At first, I was offended.
“You don’t want me to handle it?”
She looked at me.
“You investigate money for a living.”
“Yes.”
“You also call me three times a day asking whether I ate.”
“Reasonable.”
“And you would drive me insane.”
Fair.
She chose an independent adviser.
May you like
That was healthy.
Protection did not mean replacing Wendy’s control with mine.
