No one will speak to Mother's POA regarding legal issues!

Tomandwendy asked...

My husband's father passed away in February. We are taking care of his mother who has Alzheimer's. She is capable enough to have given him power of attorney, but the problem we are having is that no one will speak to him on her legal matters.

She is supposed to be getting a pension from her husband's county pension, but as to date we have not received anything. We are getting a complete runaround from the county, from them having requested forms from us at least four times, which we have returned via return requested mail. That shows they did receive it, but are still asking for the same paper work again. We cannot afford an attorney. Is there somewhere we can go for help, an advocate or something? We have spent all of our savings paying for her bills so we need to get this settled.

Expert Answer

Steve Weisman hosts the nationally syndicated radio show A Touch of Grey, heard on more than 50 stations, including WABC in New York City and KRLA in Los Angeles. He is a practicing lawyer specializing in estate planning and is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court. He's a public speaker and commentator who has appeared on many radio and television shows throughout the country, and he's the legal editor of Talkers magazine, the preeminent trade publication of talk radio. His latest book is The Truth About Avoiding Scams.

I urge you to make an appointment to go in and meet in person with someone with authority in the county's pension office. Bring copies of the documents that you have already provided with you. This should allow you and the county official to discuss what specifically may need to be done, if anything, to complete this matter.