Am I responsible for paying my mother's bills if I am her power of attorney?
Full Question:
I have my mother's durable Power of Attorney. She is 79 and has dementia. Two years ago we had to file bankruptcy for her because she didn't pay her bills. The referee for the bankruptcy would not finalize it because she continued to not pay her bills. The only way he would sign off on the bankruptcy is if some one else was responsible for paying my mother's bills. Approximately 6 months before I got involved and got her Power of attorney, she refinanced the house with a high risk mortgage. She did not want the house to be part of the bankruptcy. Her mortgage goes up 10% every year and she cannot continue to pay it. The payment is over $1100.00 each month. Since I pay her bills, I want to know if I decided to either not pay the mortgage or to just pay a portion of the mortgage, am I legally responsible for the difference. I have tried talking to my mother and she just won't listen. I have told her she cannot afford to stay in her house any longer and if she would just move into an apartment she would have extra money. She still refuses to move out. The mortgage takes up all of her Social Security check and just about all of her pension. If she didn't work part time she wouldn't have money to live on each month. I need to know what my legal rights are regarding this. I can't afford to take on her bills either.
04/28/2007 |
Category: Power of Attorney |
State: Ohio |
#3394
Answer:
Whether you are responsible would depend on the nature of the court's order making you responsible for paying her bills and whether you are named on any of the lender's documents. I suggest you get debt counseling or other counseling to assist you and your mother in making financial decisions. Perhaps a third party's support may help persuade your mother to a course of action.
