Q: Additional questions to: What is the cost of a POA in CA? My sister resides in CA, had a stroke in July, in rehab in CA.
Thank you for your previous answers. Ms. Whitehurst, what other "eventualities" are you referring to? And, Mr. Gaffney, so, is it necessary and/or advised to obtain a physician's letter stating she has "the mental capacity to understand what she is signing"? We are also awaiting approval for SSI and Medicaid - is it advisable for her to keep her piece of land property or sell it?
A:
If a person has some impairment, then you are right to worry that someone may later claim that they did not have the capacity to sign the document. We usually work the other way around (getting a doctor to say someone is incompetent), but I like your defensive thinking in making sure that she has the capacity for the decision. A good record of a doctor stating that she has that capacity is an excellent idea.
As to the property, that depends on whether it is her residence or if it generates income for her, or it is just fallow.
Her house should be kept no matter what, and always insist that she is going to move back there (no matter her medical condition) -- if you sell it then you just have to spend the money on her care, but if you keep it AND put it in a trust, then the house can be saved for her heirs while the government pays her medical bills.
If the property is just sitting around doing nothing, then Medi-Cal (Medicaid in California) will require it to be sold and used for medical bills before she will be eligible for government help.
If it is rental property, then she can keep it and still qualify for Medi-Cal but it still needs to go into a trust.
Remember that Medi-Cal rules are different (and WAY better) than the Medicaid rules of the other 49 states.
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