My father is partially paralyzed and cannot speak. He is alert and can answer yes or no questions. I would be comfortable being consulted before decisions are made. However, I do not want to be power of attorney because I fear that I might inherit his debt once he dies. A friend recently shared a POA horror story involving his loved one. My friend stated that his oldest sibling became POA for his loved one. After his death, bill collectors harassed the POA for a while. It took several court appearances to finally end the harassment. I must think of my own family. I cannot put my family through such an ordeal. Is there some way that I can help my father and still guarantee protection for my family?
But to answer your question, no, you cannot pass the POA on to someone else. Only your father can assign that to someone.
The POA ends at the death of the principal.
If not, talk to dad and then get the attorney who drew up first POA to draw up new one with dad assigning someone else, maybe even his attorney.
PS. Your responsibilities as POA end at your dads death. His debts just come out of estate not from you personally as long as nothing is in your name or you aren't on any accounts jointly with dad -- such as owning house or car together.
All debt comes out of estate before the estate is distributed to those in the will.
You are wise not to accept this responsibility if you are not comfortable with it, for whatever reason or no reason at all. If I were you I'd ask the family lawyer; but it'll cost money, is that a problem?
As far as being harassed later by creditors for his expenses, I'm guessing you can count on it anyway, especially with having the same name. And, furthermore, some states have filial responsibility laws that require a son to provide support for a parent if he is financially able, so that could come into play.
You really should make an appointment with an attorney who specializes in elder law. Usually they will give you a free or low-cost initial visit and answer a lot of your questions and tell you what they can do to help you and how much it will cost.
Having been POA for a paralyzed loved one, I somewhat understand your anguish, although I didn't have the name problem. Care is expensive, excellent care is about impossible to find, and managing finances for someone else is scary. The assistance I got from an elder law attorney was worth way more than the cost.
When he dies get lots of copies of death certificates then write up a letter saying that you are not him & he is deceased - furthermore any additional pushing for payment is harassment & then they can be charged for that - take the time to hand deliver these & ask for someone to sign otherwise take a pix - if a court is involved later then that may go a long way - good luck