My Mom can no longer do for herself and my step-dad is 94 and uses a walker. He is trying to take care of her but realizes that he no longer can and wants to find a place for her. They can not afford to pay that kind of money and I need to get her on Medicaid so she can go to a secure place. She has either lost or thrown away all of her identification. Neither of them drive and I can only go see them every other week to help. They live 70 miles away from me and I have to work. I need to find a way to get her some ID and sign her up for Medicaid. Their monthly income is approximately $3000.00 a month. If you could find me a site where I could copy a Limited POA for a caregiver that doesn't include financial it would be a big help. I have her Designation of Health Care Surrogate form already but I know for a POA it has to be Notarized and for that she needs ID. Please find a way to help us, my Dad can't take much more. He has trouble getting her to eat and she takes things and hides them or maybe throws them away. She is constantly leaving the house saying she has to get home and then can't find her way back to the house. The police have brought her home a couple times.
I talked my contact info and my relationship to my mom in the glove compartment of the car as well as in moms wallet and slipped multiple contact cards in most of her purses and coat pockets.
As for POA, you should get both medical and financial is my advice. But if you just want medical, then you and dad need to get one drawn up legally and have elder law attorney advise.
SOS = Secretary of State
1. Everyone should have an ID, either a Driver's License or a state ID. If you have someone you're taking care of, make sure you get them a State ID while they can still get up and around. The example that IL SOS gave was this: a person must go to the department of motor vehicles (or whatever it's called in your state) to get an ID. Don't want until they're bedridden to get one because, at that point, you can't get them over there for the ID. That's about when you really need it, but a little late to be getting it. Overall, it should make identity issues easier, though.
2. In the State of IL, you can have both a DL and a State ID. If you are over a certain age, you get the State ID free, I believe, and the SOS office suggests that, even if you have DL, that you get a State ID. That way, if you lose your DL, you have a State ID to fall back on for identification. Do not ever keep them in the same place. The example SOS gave was this: if your wallet is stolen with your DL but you have a State ID at home, you can go home to get your State ID to allow you to cash checks or to help get your new DL.
But, by contrast, the State of MI does not allow any resident to have both a DL AND a state ID.
So, check with your state. Every person should have at least one of them, but for states that allow both, get both if you're eligible for a reduced cost or free ID (or maybe get both if the person is kind of forgetful and tends to lose things, too).
Lastly have you considered both parents going into a nursing home or some type of elder care facility? That way your mom and dad can still be together, your dad can feel like he is still caring for your mom while they are both being cared for by the facility. From the sound of your description both would benefit by placement.
Call the Medicaid office in your area and see if one of their social workers can't assist you that is what they are there for.
For example, the State of IL has its own POA forms that you can get from SOS or from the IL State Bar Assocation site for free that is ONLY for health and another that is ONLY for financial, and both are different from durable POA.
But make sure you get it notarized. The UPS store has notaries.