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Florida Litigation: Misusing a Power of Attorney(POA)

Uncategorized Mar 7, 2019
post about Florida Litigation: Misusing a Power of Attorney(POA)

Do you have suspicions that the POA of an elderly person is abusing their power as POA? What can you do if a person signed a POA while incapacitated? Can a valid POA be created while the person signing the POA has dementia? Can you use a POA to withdraw money for yourself? If you believe that a POA has been used to take money from an elderly person or family member, you may want to read a recent Fourth DCA opinion, Johnson v. State of Florida.  

In this Florida POA case, Johnson is convicted of exploitation of an elderly person after obtaining and using a POA to take money from the victim.  Johnson had her neighbor, the victim, sign a POA while the neighbor was hospitalized after an act that showed signs of dementia. Johnson then used the POA to withdraw funds from the victim’s bank account. Johnson was only able to prove that SOME of the money she withdrew from the victim’s bank account was used for the victim. Furthermore, as POA of the victim, Johnson added her six-year-old daughter as the death beneficiary of the victim’s accounts. To read the entire opinion, click here.