Q: Can a woman with Alzheimer's give power of attorney over herself to a person who is incapacitated in a hospital?
The incapacitated is in the hospital with a massive stroke. Is there a law that has been broken? How many witnesses must be on a poa? Shouldn't the person who is receiving the poa sign it?
A: Capacity does not require that a person be lucid all the time. Rather, people with dementia, alzheimer's, stroke, etc. may still have periods of capacity/understanding (lucid intervals) at the time of entering the contract. And, yes, a person can also give another, with limited capacity, the authority to act on his/her behalf, but the acts the agent can do is limited to the person's capacity. This is a very fact intensive query in these sort of situations. You will likely have to call counsel to better discuss these factors to obtain a more precise answer for your specific situation.
A: Sounds like both people may need to be interdicted. Hire a family court attorney.
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