Who Can Override a Power of Attorney — and When Can It Be Challenged?

One of the most common questions adult children face when a parent gets seriously ill is this: someone has power of attorney, but we don't agree with what they're doing. Can anything be done?

The answer depends on who holds the POA, whether the parent still has mental capacity, and what specific actions you're trying to challenge. Power of attorney is not absolute — there are people with the authority to override it, and there are legal mechanisms to stop an agent who is abusing their authority.

First: The Person Who Granted the POA Can Always Revoke It (While Competent)

The single most important point to understand is this: if your parent still has mental capacity, they are in charge. No one else can override their wishes.

A power of attorney exists to act on behalf of the principal (your parent). While your parent is competent, they can revoke the document at any time, for any reason, without anyone's permission. They simply need to:

1. Write a signed, dated letter (ideally notarized) stating the POA is revoked
2. Notify the named agent directly
3. Notify any financial institutions or healthcare providers who have the old POA on file

If the family's concern is that a sibling or other person holds a POA and is making bad decisions while your parent is still capable of making their own decisions, the answer is simple: talk to your parent. If they agree the agent isn't acting in their interest, they revoke it and name someone else.

This is why establishing a POA while a parent is healthy and competent is so important — and why it's worth discussing not just who holds the POA, but who the successor agent is if the first person can't serve.

Who Has Authority to Challenge a POA Once the Parent Loses Capacity?

Once your parent lacks capacity, they can no longer revoke the document themselves. At that point, oversight comes from:

The Courts

Any interested party — a family member, a healthcare provider, an adult protective services worker — can petition a court to challenge a POA on the grounds that:

• The principal lacked capacity when the document was signed (not just now, but at the time of signing)
• The document was signed under undue influence or fraud
• The agent is not acting in the principal's best interest (breach of fiduciary duty)
• The agent is committing financial abuse

Courts take these petitions seriously. If the court determines the agent is unfit, it can remove them and appoint a guardian or conservator — a court-supervised role that supersedes the POA entirely.

This is an expensive and slow path. Guardianship proceedings can take months and cost tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees, drawn from the very estate you're trying to protect. That's why it's a last resort, not a first step.

Adult Protective Services (APS)

If you suspect an agent is financially exploiting your parent — taking money, making unauthorized transfers, manipulating a vulnerable adult — you can report this to your state's Adult Protective Services agency. APS investigates elder abuse, including financial abuse perpetrated by a person holding POA. APS has authority to intervene and can refer cases to law enforcement.

Financial abuse by someone with POA is a crime in every state. The fact that someone is a named agent doesn't give them unlimited authority to take money for themselves.

The State Attorney General's Office

Many states have elder abuse divisions within the attorney general's office that handle POA abuse, particularly large-scale financial fraud. These offices can investigate and prosecute.

Financial Institutions

Banks and investment firms are not required to honor a POA if they have concerns about the document's legitimacy or if they suspect elder financial abuse. Federal and state regulations increasingly empower (and in some cases require) financial institutions to flag and delay transactions that appear suspicious. If you believe an agent is making fraudulent transfers, notifying the bank directly is one of the fastest interventions available.

What Can't a POA Agent Do?

Even a validly executed durable power of attorney does not give the agent unlimited power. The agent is a fiduciary — legally required to act in the principal's best interest, not their own.

Agents generally cannot:

• Make gifts of the principal's assets to themselves unless the document specifically authorizes gifting
• Change the principal's will or trust — a POA has no authority over testamentary documents
• Act after the principal dies — a POA ends at death; only the executor of the estate has authority after that point
• Make healthcare decisions under a financial POA (and vice versa) — these are separate documents with separate authority, which is why both a healthcare POA and a financial (durable) POA are needed
• Override the principal's own decisions while the principal has capacity

If you believe an agent is doing any of these things, you have grounds for a legal challenge.

The Difference Between Healthcare POA and Financial POA

Adult children sometimes conflate these two documents, which creates confusion about authority.

A healthcare power of attorney (also called a medical power of attorney or healthcare proxy) gives an agent authority to make medical decisions when the principal cannot make them for themselves. This is separate from the advance directive (living will), which is the document where the principal records their own wishes about treatment.

A durable power of attorney for finances gives an agent authority over financial and legal matters — banking, real estate, taxes, investments. The word "durable" means it remains effective if the principal becomes incapacitated (a standard POA typically ends at incapacity, which would make it useless for the situation it's most needed in).

Both are essential. Having only one but not the other leaves significant gaps. A family member with financial POA cannot consent to surgery. A family member with healthcare POA cannot pay your parent's mortgage.

What to Do If You're Concerned About a POA Agent

Step 1: Try direct conversation first. Sometimes what looks like abuse is actually a difference of opinion about spending priorities or care decisions. Have a direct conversation with the agent before escalating.

Step 2: Request an accounting. A financial POA agent is typically required to keep records and can be asked to account for transactions made on the principal's behalf. If they refuse or the numbers don't add up, that's a red flag.

Step 3: Involve an elder law attorney. An elder law attorney can review the POA document, advise on what the agent is and isn't permitted to do, and help you determine whether there are grounds for a legal challenge. This is not the same as a general estate attorney — elder law is a specialty.

Step 4: Contact APS if you suspect abuse. Don't wait for certainty. APS investigates and can act quickly when financial abuse of a vulnerable adult is suspected.

Step 5: Notify financial institutions. If large or suspicious transfers are being made from your parent's accounts, contact the bank's fraud department or elder financial exploitation unit.

How to Prevent These Problems Before They Start

The most effective protection against POA disputes and abuse isn't knowing how to fight them — it's setting up the documents correctly while your parent is healthy.

That means:

• Choosing the right agent (someone with financial literacy, integrity, and the time to manage it)
• Naming a successor agent in case the primary agent can't serve
• Considering co-agents for oversight (two siblings must agree on major decisions)
• Storing the document somewhere accessible so it can be found in a crisis
• Discussing your parent's wishes openly with all involved family members so no one is blindsided

The End-of-Life Planner workbook includes guidance on advance care planning documents — what each one does, how they work together, and what information needs to be recorded and stored so your family can find it when it's needed most. Learn more about the workbook.