[WSBARP] Attorney in Fact Authority to Pursue Dissolution

[Kristen Anderson]

I have a situation where my client  in a guardianship objects to the appointment of a successor guardian/conservator, and instead wants to go with a durable power of attorney.  He has wanted to dissolve his marriage since before the guardianship.

I know that a person executing a durable power of attorney can include certain powers that are not “standard.”  I have reviewed Chapter 11.195, subsections .260 (general powers), .340 (claims and litigation), and .350 (personal and family maintenance), and the closest I can come to an AIF having authority to pursue a dissolution of marriage under a DPOA is in subsection .340. Aside from repeatedly telling my client that there has not been a substantial change in circumstances (at least not to my knowledge, and in fact, he was diagnosed with frontal lobe dementia some years ago, so it is likely that his condition has deteriorated somewhat) to terminate the guardianship/conservatorship, I have been advocating for a CPG so that client can proceed with a dissolution. The CV has found a potential CPG with experience in dissolving a marriage of the respondent in a guardianship. The original order appointing my client’s daughter as his guardian provided that client could proceed with a dissolution using his guardian, so the likelihood of a dissolution has been known for some time.

So, does anyone have any experience with using a dpoa to give the aif the authority to pursue a dissolution on behalf of the respondent in a guardianship?  Any thoughts?

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Kristen Anderson

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