Wells Fargo Continues to Refuse to Accept my Durable Power of Attorney

Last Friday I posted Will Wells Fargo Accept Your Power of Attorney? Most people are shocked to hear that many banks will freely, but politely, decline to accept a durable power of attorney (DPOA). This is not the first financial services firm to say no. Three years ago Fidelity told me they would not accept a DPOA more than 2 years old; and a second one declined because it was more than 5 years old. The fact that they are doing this is frustrating and not supposed to happen. It’s complicated. I will continue to recommend you work with an estate lawyer who can help navigate this issue.

My parents did their initial DPOA in 2002. When I started to get the refusals, we worked to update their DPOA. Now that my mom is into a later stage of dementia, I need it to work so I can help continue to get mom the care she needs.

After my post @Ask_WellsFargo responded on April 30 and asked me to private message them my name and phone number. I did that. It’s been a week and no one has reached out to me.

Two days ago, the estate lawyer followed up with a letter asking that they honor my mother’s DPOA and allow me to access her funds so that they can be used for her care.

Dear Wells Fargo, The caregivers journey is already hard. Please don’t make it harder by refusing to accept the tools my mom put in place so that I could help her should she ever need it. Pleaded. 

POSTMORTEM
After getting no response from the letter to legal department of Wells Fargo, I went into my local branch every week to discuss the issue with the manager. Eventually, they worked with me to contact my siblings who were all named in the Trust to confirm that the money was to be used for my mom’s care. While in Virginia, I could have initiated a law suit, having that on my plate was one more task I wasn’t willing to consider. Thankfully, the employees at the local branch worked with me to help serve mom’s interests.