Dad's Driving

[lizzymom]

California. I am not sure if this is the right place to post. But here goes.
My sister and I have power of attorney for my father. He has "wet brain" dimentia. It is quickly getting worse. ex. if he takes a nap, whether sober or not, when he wakes up he forgets everything. Or incorporates dreams he might have into his reality. It's very disturbing.
So, we sent in the forms to dmv alerting them that he is a danger on the road because he had been driving drunk and continuosly getting lost, sometimes late at night. His doctor has also asked him to stop driving.
Ultimately, his license was suspended. He can't remember that fact. He knows something is going on with it...but over time he just thinks he is being discriminated against for being old and he's gonna sue the state, etc. etc.
He keeps driving. We have reminded him, dismantled his car, tried to take the keys and called the police.
He called a mechanic and fixed the car, had a spare key, and the police never caught up to him.
What we want to do is use the power of attorney to change the title to my sister and she will take it out of the county. Is that legal? We don't know what else to do. Whatever we do, we want to do it legally. Our ultimate goal is to protect my father and his dignity for as long as possible. He is going to kill somebody! Help

 

[Bird79]

I am not an attorney and don't know the legality of the matter; however, in most twons/city there is a senior citizens service office. Call your town hall or city hall and see if they can give you the contact info. for that sort of service. I worked in one in my town and they helped families with these sort of issues, espeically as people get older and lose their wits for all sorts of reasons, questions like this come up all the time. I imagine as power of attorney there is some way you can take the car off the road.

 

[CdwJava]

Ultimately, his license was suspended. He can't remember that fact. He knows something is going on with it...but over time he just thinks he is being discriminated against for being old and he's gonna sue the state, etc. etc.
He keeps driving. We have reminded him, dismantled his car, tried to take the keys and called the police.

You have full power of attorney, correct? SELL the car.

What we want to do is use the power of attorney to change the title to my sister and she will take it out of the county. Is that legal?

That depends on the limits of the POA. If you have control over his assets, then you should be able to transfer title or sell the car. Selling it might be easier ... transferring it to her name might be tough and might be seen as trying to profit unlawfully from the situation.

You might consider consulting an attorney as to your legal options and how to sell or transfer the car. I know it can be done as I have seen many people do it - I am just not aware of the nuts-and-bolts of how to do it.


- Carl