Can a Transaction Occur if One Spouse is Incapacitated?

An elderly married couple wished to sell their home, but they had a big problem. The notary public refused to notarize the wife’s signature, because she clearly did not understand the document she was being asked to sign. Because there was no power of attorney in place that could have authorized her husband to represent her, the transaction came to a halt.

This situation, as described in Lake Country News’ article “When one spouse becomes incapacitated, ” is not an uncommon occurrence. The couple needed to petition the court for an order authorizing the transaction. When community property is concerned and one spouse is competent while the second is not, the competent spouse may ask the court for permission to conduct the transaction.

The request in California requires the following:

The incapacitated spouse must have an examination by a physician and a capacity evaluation form must be filed with the court. This is the same as a conservator proceeding.

The court must appoint a “guardian ad litem” to represent the incapacitated spouse’s interests. The person might be an adult child, or an attorney. That person must then file a written report with their recommendation to the court.

Next, the transaction must involve the couple’s community property. The order may affect additional separate property interests in the same transaction. If there is no community property, it is permissible for the well spouse to change some of the well spouse’s private property into community property to meet the requirements for community property.

The transactions must also be for one of several allowed purposes, including the best interests of the spouses or their estates, or for the care or support of either spouse.

In the example that starts this article, the purpose was to authorize the sale of their home, so they could move out of state to live with their children. Another example could be to transfer property, so an incapacitated spouse may become eligible for government benefits.

Finally, the notice of hearing and a copy of the petition must be served on all the incapacitated spouse’s children and grandchildren. Any of these individuals are permitted to object and could set the proceedings back months or even years.

How much easier would it be to simply meet with an estate planning attorney long before there are any health or mental capacity issues and have a power of attorney document created for each of the spouses?

Speak with an experienced estate planning attorney to have your estate plan, which includes the power of attorney document, and have all these important documents created before you need them.

Reference: Lake Country News (July 27, 2019) “When one spouse becomes incapacitated”