Carrie, I think it kind of depends on what you're spending the money on if you withdraw it. (Again, not a lawyer.) After my dad died and I got Power of Attorney for my mom, we put my name on her checking accounts so that I could pay her bills, as she's not able to handle money (Alzheimer's). I make sure to keep copies of all the bills I've paid, and I always make sure each check is noted in the register. I also keep all receipts for the money spent on her prescriptions. It's hard enough to care for one's parents as they age, but taking care of the finances is doubly difficult. My parents were so frugal, I know that if Mom realized we are paying over $2,200 a month for her apartment at the retirement community/assisted living facility, she'd come unglued. As it is, she doesn't ask those types of questions anymore. We have maybe enough money to pay out of pocket for a couple of years. I'm going to file for Veteran's Benefits for my mom to try and supplement this, as my dad was a WWII veteran. Best of luck to you!! You're not alone in this journey, for sure.

We used to live in Germany but we had the luxury of using the banks on a US Army base. However, I seem to recall that using a credit card usually gave a good rate of exchange (not that there are any very good rates these days since the $ is low against the euro). So it seems to me that you could open an account at any bank stateside and he could withdraw funds with a debit card from the numerous ATMs and get a pretty good exchange rate. You could set up a way to quickly deposit funds into his account without being on his account it seems to me. The only drawback I can see to this plan is that there are limits to how much can be withdrawn on a given day; to pay rent he might have to withdraw over the period of a couple of days. He might want to call a German bank and get some advice straight from them. Most people use their German bank account to pay all their bills. They set up automatic withdrawals for rent and utilities. If the American bank could transfer the funds monthly to a German bank that might work out even better. We kept a German bank account for our rent and utilities, but we had to make a manual deposit each month. They all speak English, or have a colleague who does.

AM DISABLED AND BLIND AND INSOLVENT TO BOOT. HAD CREDIT COUNSELING AND RECEIVED A CERTIFICATE#. THOUGHT I WAS FILING FOR BANKR. BUT WHEN ATTY SAID COST $2000 AND WAS DENIED PRO-BONO, ALSO WAS TOLD BY ATTY AND C.P.A. THAT THEY COULDN'T MAKE ME PAY. OKAY, SO C.P.A. PREPARED PAPERWORK FOR CREDITORS TO STOP MY MONTHLY PAYMENTS, BUT.....WHERE DO I SEND THESE PAPERS WITHOUT GETTING THE SAME KIND OF RUN-AROUND YOU ALL SEEM TO BE HAVING? GE MONEY BANK AND PAYPAL BUYERS CREDIT SEEMS TO HAVE THEMSELVES WELL-INSULATED. I JUST WANT TO FILE THESE PAPERS WITH THE CORRECT LEGAL/FINANCIAL OFFICIALS AT THE RIGHT ADDRESS. ANYONE KNOWING OF A PARENT CORPORATE HQ ADDRESS FOR THE SOUTHEASTERN REGION OF THE USA, PLEASE, PLEASE DO LET ME KNOW AT MY EMAIL ADDRESS A.S.A.P. I CAN'T DEAL WITH READING LENGTHY FINANCIAL TOMES ANYMORE - SO PLEASE FORGIVE THESE ALL CAPS - I'M NOT SHOUTING AT ANYONE, BUT PROB. WOULD LIKE TO TAKE THESE CONSCIENCE-LESS CREDITORS WHO RAISE RATES ON LONG AND GOOD CUSTOMERS AND GRAB THEM BY THEIR SHORT HAIRS THANKS ONE AND ALL AND MERRY CHRISTMAS AND MANY BLESSINGS

Thank you all for your ideas! This will be as much a part of the learning experience for her as the camp will, I imagine. Thank goodness there's a young man whom she knows from the youth symphony who will be going there too, for the second time, and we've learned that he's unapologetically frugal. Laundromat vs. laundry service, etc. So she can 'follow' him and not feel like she's the only one who doesn't have parents who are 'wealthy' or 'generous' enough. We were actually able to find a 'teen' account at a local credit union we've wanted to begin a relationship with for a while, but just haven't. After DD took a quick tutorial and had to score 100 on a test about basic banking and personal finance issues (love the credit union if only for that feature!), a person there very expertly walked us through establishing both a savings and a checking account. The checking comes with a debit card that is also a VISA if you use it that way, and you are protected against fraud if any fraudulent charges appear (that didn't involve your PIN). Best of both worlds. Never thought it would be that easy--now she just has to not lose the card (although she'll be safe as long as the PIN isn't with it, which it won't be.) I swear, g'web home decor conversations is the Place To Be. I'll keep all those ideas in mind, including yours, Beth, a preloaded AAA Visa--who knew! Really helpful. Thanks so much!