So my mother is incarcerated; 78 days now. I have POA over my sisters. I am staying at mom's house to keep my sisters lives normal. She asked me to go get her purse from her possessions and do what I have to do to take care of everything. She gave me all of her passwords and pins, her Social Security number, bank account number, her driver's license, everything. I did not get POA for my mom. (I honestly did not know I could.) I have been transferring her money into my account for her rent and all other bills. She knows about it and is 100% okay with it.
I forgot the password to her application for banking and I got locked out of it. I have to go to the bank or call to verify identity. I plan on getting a POA before I go to the bank, but what if they have a issue with previous transactions? The past 78 days, to be exact. Can I go to jail? I also scared! I need advice from someone who has been in this kind of situation.
I would contact the Legal Aid Society. They are free and they can help you. I would think you would need a POA over your mother. The POA over your sisters does help. Your sisters need money to survive. The lawyer may be able help you get the POA over your mother. Once you have that, the bank can reset the password.
I wouldn't worry too much.
Most people have little to no warning they'll be incarcerated and their finances aren't set up for it, but life goes on in the meantime and somebody has to make those payments.
If anyone asks, just say your mother is incarcerated and you've been busy getting temporary custody of family members and are now working on getting POA but in the meantime bills have to be paid. Most people will sympathise with your situation. Unless they really have reason to believe you're stealing something it's unlikely they'll pursue it further.
in some states the poa has to go thru the court. In other areas, you can print one off of online and as long as it is witnessed and notarized, you are ok. But, it only counts from that date to the expiration date.
Does your mom get any phone time? Can she call the bank and have the password reset?
You can make arrangements to get a legal POA from your mother through the prison system. It would be best to discuss this with an official of the system so you will know exactly what you have to do and what forms you will need. Forms can be purchased at most office supply stores but the prison may have the forms you need.
At the same time you obtain the POA you should have a statement ready for your mother to sign stating that she gave you authority/permission to use her resources to provide necessities for the children and state the date this happened.
This will need to be motorized the same as the POA but the prison will be able to handle this for you.
Here is a link that will explain how to handle this:
