If you are ever assessed and found to be mentally incapable and don't have an attorney, the Public Guardian and Trustee may become your Statutory Guardian. The Public Guardian can only transfer this authority back to family and they will make every effort to do so. If this happens it can cost family members thousands of dollars in lawyer fees and court costs. Many people think that their spouse can automatically take over for them if they become mentally incapable. This is not true unless you have given your spouse power of attorney.
Many people also believe that a joint bank account can act as a substitute for a power of attorney.
They believe that if something happens to them the other person on the joint account will look after them and pay their bills. This is only true if you have given power of attorney to the other person on the joint account. If the bank is aware that one of the joint owners of the account is mentally incapable of managing their finances, the bank will freeze the account. The bank's job is to protect the assets of it's customers. They have no way of knowing why the account was opened or the relationship of the people with signing authority.