Power-of-attorney bill urged for seniors

CARSON CITY -- A state Senate panel was urged Friday to approve a power-of-attorney measure aimed at protecting Nevada seniors from abuses by caregivers and, in some cases, their own children.

Senate Bill 314, reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee, would erase limited power-of-attorney laws and replace them with a much broader act proposed by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws.

Proponents of Senate Bill 314 included Lora Myles of the RSVP CARE Law Program that assists seniors, who said the existing Nevada laws make it tough on seniors in dealing with banks or with authorities when seniors become victims of exploitation.

Myles described a case in which a woman confessed to using a power of attorney "to rip her mother off for a very large sum of money" but police and a district attorney wouldn't prosecute the case, saying they lacked the authority under existing state law.

In other action, Judiciary members approved Senate Bill 313, a bill that would revise Nevada's laws on guardianships, in line with suggestions from the uniform law commission, the National Guardianship Association and Nevada Guardianship Association.

Also Friday, the Assembly voted unanimously for a bill to make it easier to prosecute those who steal from the elderly, or engage in fraudulent activity during the course of their jobs.

Assembly Bill 322 would make it a felony to steal repeatedly from clients at least two times in four years, if the combined amount exceeds $250.