I have started to visit AL and memory care homes for my mom. She's delusional and paranoid a lot, along with some medical issues but mostly healthy. Her mind is going fast though. All of the places that I visit tell me that I need to have DPOA to make decisions. I have a healthcare directive POA and a medical POA. What is the difference and why do I need DPOA? We are joint owners on her bank accounts and she owns no property. She lives in a small senior independent living complex about 100 yards from me and I am there daily. Thanks.
Best wishes!
Rebecca, thank you very much and for also clarifying some things to other posters. :)
A POA could include both health and financial powers in a single document. It could be two separate documents.
A health/medical POA is a POA related to the care and welfare of a person. A financial POA relates to the property of that principal. Durability is a provision in the POA, and it's often used in the title which it can be confusing sometimes.
If you don't have the financial POA (what it appears is being referred to as a DPOA), you may not be allowed to handle the financial affairs of your loved one. It sounds like the medical side of the POA issue is well covered with both an advance directive and a healthcare POA in the original poster's specific situation. But it appears they are looking for a financial-related POA. I agree you have little property to require a financial POA, but perhaps the facility relies upon that? If the health POA allows you to handle AL/MC arrangements (and many such POAs do allow that), I'd like to think it should be good enough, and it may be something you have to point out to them.
As a legal professional reviewing multiple POAs a day for LTC/Life/Annuity insurer, I need to clarify a few things seen in a post that are not, from a legal perspective, accurate:
A springing POA is one that only goes into effect in a certain set of circumstances provided in the POA itself. For instance, many people indicate the POA is not active until 2 physicians certify the principal is not competent to make his/her own decisions. It is NOT active immediately. That's not how it operates in law. Most POAs take effect immediately UNLESS it's a springing POA.
A durable POA simply means that the POA survives even if the principal becomes unable to handle their own affairs. It doesn't have anything to do with trusts - trust handling can be a part of a financial power of attorney, but the durable provision is not related to the trust. Most, but not all, POAs are durable. Some state laws says that it's assumed to be durable even if not specified. Other states require a declaration of durability to be considered durable.
Each state has its own laws regarding the requirements of POAs - health or financial. What is required in one state isn't necessarily the requirement in another state. Always check with either a legal professional or consult your attorney general website to make sure you obtain a POA compliant with your state laws.
1a. Names of husband / wife
2a. Names of all children living and dead
1b. Power of Attorney
1c. Last Will and Testament
1d. Property section
1e. instructions to each Administrator and Co-Administrator
2. settlors are each person or Administrator if more than one
3. The mechanics of a trust during settlors life
4. What happens after settlor passes
5. Special Needs Trust - usually only used when a mentally or physically handicapped child is involved as in a beneficiary
6. The Administrator or Trustee's Job location / description
7. Accounting Distribution Powers
8. Disinheritance - in the very rare event you need to remove someone from a trust and all of its benefits due to illegal activity or distrust in an individual. in such cases you must use this before the Principal or Trustee passes as once trustee passes it can either be a locked trust or a changeable trust, most common are locked meaning the trust stands as it was when Trustee passes and no further changes can happen that is why it is very very important to be d*mn sure of who your installing as co admins.
if in doubt kick them out, as I had to do, when my exwifes son whom I found out wasnt biologically mine and after he commited 2 acts of attempted murder against the biological family of the trustee, since my ex wifes son originally our son till DNA came back to settle the "Who's Your Daddy Contest" I then Disinherited him,my ex wife and his cousin and his aunt. on the other side of the family, It was one of the most insane and sick acts of Conspiracy I have ever seen. and I tip my hat to my security guy for even bringing up the trust at all because what he heard my ex's son high fiving a drug dealer that wow we won the trust it is all ours, not 2 years later he set me up on a 72 hour hold at a hospital where the procedures he had the doctors put me thru could have killed me, then tried to have my security guy murdered by cop, Then stole the trustees medications while I was out of town for 2 days and furthermore denied doing it. I just want to catch that son of a b*tch on the stand telling a little white lie once and he goes for 10 years for perjury on a federal level.
Hope this helps
sorry for being so thorough and drawn out but once I started I thought it was best to share what I know from experience and and experience you dont want!!
Here is what LEGAL ZOOM says.