Q. wanted to open a joint account at Bank of America with my mom. I pulled $70,000 out of Wachovia to move to Bank of America. Incredibly, some attorney for the bank speaking on the phone to the bank clerk refused my power of attorney. What's even more astonishing was the demand that my mother be there in person to open the account, despite my explanation that she has Alzheimer's and is in a wheelchair and can't walk.

-- David Goodman, Miami

Your mother was not a previous Bank of America customer, so that's probably where things fell through.

Clemente Vazquez-Bello, a Miami-based attorney who specializes in banking and commercial law and is counsel to domestic and foreign banks, indicated that the bank might have had questions about the power of attorney since it comes from a mentally incapacitated person and didn't want to take the time to look into it. ''How would they know that the mother had the mental capacity to execute the power of attorney? Maybe that's something they didn't want to have to conduct due diligence on (to investigate),'' said Vazquez-Bello, who suggested you try going to another bank to open the account, which might be more flexible in accepting the power of attorney.

Federal law requires that a bank determine and verify the identity of each customer when an account is opened. Under this Customer Identification Program, a new customer must appear in person to open a bank account. However, this doesn't apply to disabled persons.

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