POA for my dad after a stroke — how do I find all of his bank accounts and investments?
My dad had a stroke that took him from being 100% healthy, independent and capable to being bedbound with advanced vascular dementia in a matter of days.
I’m now trying to sort out his finances, and I honestly don’t know where to begin. My dad is unfortunately no longer mentally capable, and I am his POA.
The biggest problem is that I don’t even know where everything is. I don’t know which banks he had accounts with, where his investments are held, or what other accounts/assets he may have.
I have his wallet, so I can see the bank and credit cards he carried. I’ve been able to call the automated number to check his credit card balances and make the necessary payments. But he didn’t receive any paper bank, investment or credit card statements, so I assume everything was online.
I don’t have access to his Apple ID or his computer login, which means I can’t get into his email or any of his online accounts to figure out what he had.
For anyone who has been through something similar: how did you go about finding all of your parent’s bank accounts, investments and other financial assets when you didn’t already know where they were held? Is there some sort of process or search that can be done as POA?
I feel a little dumb even posting this because I’m a CPA and feel like I should be able to figure it out. But the last eight months have been consumed with taking care of my dad and dealing with much more immediate issues, so this is something I’ve unfortunately let slide.
Please be kind in your responses. This has been an incredibly difficult transition for our family.
We are in Ontario, Canada, so Canadian/Ontario-specific advice would be especially appreciated.