My mother has memory issues and might have dementia. Can she still sign a power of attorney?

It depends. Just because an individual has memory issues or he or she has been diagnosed with dementia, that does not mean that the individual has no capacity to execute a power of attorney. In the early stages of dementia, an individual may still have the ability to understand a power of attorney document and have the capacity to execute the document. However, if the individual is not able to understand the nature of the power of attorney document or has such memory issues that he or she cannot recall the power of attorney, it is likely that the individual does not have the capacity to sign the power of attorney. You should also be careful that an individual with memory issues and dementia might technically have capacity to sign a power of attorney but his or her diminished capacity might make the individual susceptible to undue influence in doing so.