I see good questions about powers of attorney here, but I haven't seen anything mentioning the fact that when a person (called the principal) designates another person as their agent and grants that person medical or financial power of attorney the agent is a fiduciary. In Colorado (each state has its own laws) this means the agent-fiduciary must act with the highest degree of good faith on behalf of the principal, and the agent can be held liable in court for breach of fiduciary duty. The agent has to follow the lawful instructions given by the principal and must act in accordance with the principal’s best interests, not their own. States that have adopted the Uniform Power of Attorney Act allow a broad range of parties or persons the standing to sue a POA for breach of fiduciary duties. If you are having problems with someone acting like the POA is a free ticket check your state's statutes. Quoting a little law can go a far way in bringing some people up short.
I think that since DPOA is used so much now that we need to have some rules in writing. First, you can't assign someone without them signing off. I signed nothing when Mom assigned me. That the person assigned gets an explanation from the lawyer what POA entails. It does not give you the right to steal the principles money.
You are correct. A POA is a Fiduciary held to the HIGHEST standards under the law. I say this on Forum all the time. I also find those seeking POA have almost ZERO knowledge of all it entails and I send them to Elder Law and Trust and Estate Attorneys for Trusts, as well. People think they get POA "over" someone. On the contrary, they can only be appointed by a competent adult and it is that adult who holds all power until/unless they become incompetent to act in their own best interests. Moreover there are onerous burdens of record keeping. It is also almost impossibly difficult to act for an adult that is become incompetent and uncooperative.
People take this duty lightly and understand it little. It is a steep learning curve. I hope all investigate thoroughly what it means to serve as POA before accepting that duty.
The laws of states vary, but they vary little. I wish people would visit an attorney before agreeing to serve as POA.
Source: https://www.aplaceformom.com/caregiver-resources/articles/misconceptions-about-a-power-of-attorney