Hello everyone,
This is the first time that I have posted, though I have been reading for a few weeks. My Dad was diagnosed about a month ago - he's 65 and they think he may have had it for five years already. My sister (age 31) and I (age 35) are devastated.
Our Mum and Dad divorced some time ago and Dad is remarried. We have a close relationship with our step-mum, but feel a bit nervous at the moment, as she immediately started talking about Power of Attorney. We are not sure what implications this might have for the future.
Dad has been told that he is in the early stages of Alheimer's - he has short-term memory loss, find it's difficult to think through the stages of completing any DIY tasks and hates being alone, as he's lost all of his self-confidence. Apart from these problems, and forgetting words, he seems to have all his faculties. He repeats himself, not because he has forgotten that he has said something, but because he seems to need to say everything several times before he moves on. However, we can still have a good discussion with him about past events or politics or any topic that takes our fancy, and he seems to have all his reasoning powers and an awful lot of general knowledge.
Could any one give us any information/advice about the implications of our step-mum having Power of Attorney? Also, what would happen if our step-mum died before Dad and he had deteriorated to the stage where he couldn't make decisions for himself? Who would have Power of Attorney then?
We would be very grateful for any help.
Jaydon
This is the first time that I have posted, though I have been reading for a few weeks. My Dad was diagnosed about a month ago - he's 65 and they think he may have had it for five years already. My sister (age 31) and I (age 35) are devastated.
Our Mum and Dad divorced some time ago and Dad is remarried. We have a close relationship with our step-mum, but feel a bit nervous at the moment, as she immediately started talking about Power of Attorney. We are not sure what implications this might have for the future.
Dad has been told that he is in the early stages of Alheimer's - he has short-term memory loss, find it's difficult to think through the stages of completing any DIY tasks and hates being alone, as he's lost all of his self-confidence. Apart from these problems, and forgetting words, he seems to have all his faculties. He repeats himself, not because he has forgotten that he has said something, but because he seems to need to say everything several times before he moves on. However, we can still have a good discussion with him about past events or politics or any topic that takes our fancy, and he seems to have all his reasoning powers and an awful lot of general knowledge.
Could any one give us any information/advice about the implications of our step-mum having Power of Attorney? Also, what would happen if our step-mum died before Dad and he had deteriorated to the stage where he couldn't make decisions for himself? Who would have Power of Attorney then?
We would be very grateful for any help.
Jaydon