Q: How to resolve name discrepancy for power of attorney in PA?
My uncle was born as Patrick James Gallagher, but he has always gone by James or P. James. Some bank accounts list him as James J. Gallagher. We are having trouble obtaining a power of attorney because the names don't match. We were informed that a notarized document is needed, but we're unsure of the type. He only has one bank, and no legal advice has been sought yet. His health is failing, and resolving this quickly is important. What steps can we take to address this issue?
A:
when drafting the POA you should have the attorney list every name variant above as A/K/A (also known as) and there should be a separate signature line for each A/K/A.
the first name and the most important one is the name on your uncle's driver license since he has to provide a copy of his ID to the Notary when signing the POA. List all the others and make sure at least one of them is the same as his name appears on the bank accounts
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