https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/10/heal ... rless.htmlYou think you’ve done everything right: Your parents or other relatives have signed a durable power of attorney. Among other things, it allows you to handle their finances — taxes, bills, bank accounts, real estate sales — if they become incapacitated.
Everyone sleeps better. Months or years later, suddenly or gradually, the time comes when older family members can no longer manage transactions on their own.
You take the witnessed and notarized document to a financial institution — a big brokerage firm like Wells Fargo or Ameriprise, or a national or regional bank or credit union. And officials say no, they won’t honor your power of attorney.
They insist that the account owners sign the institution’s own power of attorney form — very unwelcome news, because by now the older account holders may not be competent to sign legal forms.
I'm concerned about my Vanguard accounts, since their POA form only lets you name one person as POA. What if I become incapacitated and then something happens to my POA and there are no contingent POAs? Might have to move that Vanguard account after all to a more rational financial organization. Anybody know what Schwab and Fidelity are doing?