Healthcare Representative for Connecticut vs. Medical POA

lizgburton

Hi all, I am new to all of this, as my mom was just evaluated by her primary care doctor after my prompting and is scheduled with geriatric physician for full assessment. She has already signed a healthcare proxy for me for state of NY (where parents currently live). I planned to also do paperwork for healthcare representative in Connecticut as we are in process of moving them out close to me. I was told however, that I really should get POA. This is not needed for finances as my dad is fine physically and mentally and he manages all the finances. They also already set up a trust. As far as medical decisions, from everything I've looked up and researched, there is no difference between medical POA and healthcare representative in the state of Connecticut. (Except the cost of hiring a lawyer to complete vs. just doing the paperwork on our own) Is there anyone in CT that can confirm or share further info on if I do need POA?

SusanB-dil

Hi lizgburton - welcome to 'here', but sorry for the reason.

You'd probably have to check with a CLEC (elder-care lawyer) for proper legal answers. Sometimes even just a consultation might suffice, and that is sometimes free or at least low-cost.

Does Dad have DPOA for her? DPOA and HIPAA accesses are different. MIL's DPOA includes the health-care proxies, and she had already signed the papers in her docs offices for HIPAA as well, which also helps.

lizgburton

Thank you Susan. I may contact them just to see if they can confirm this for free. My dad doesn't have anything in place. I think he's been in denial until I brought up her issues as a concern. I'm trying to do everything I can from a distance right now. It's a lot. Hoping to get whatever is needed in place before she is unable to sign it. I appreciate your insight and care. Thank you!

Emily 123

Hello,

Chiming in here- it’s good to make sure you plan for both mom and dad.
Being the backup POA for mom and being dad’s primary POA would ensure that there’s ‘coverage’ no matter what. That way if dad needs a break and goes out of town, or gets incapacitated himself, you’ll be able to take over for them seamlessly.

That would also include being the backup listed on all their financial and healthcare documents and having the list of passwords to their accounts if anything’s online.

Better to plan for the worst and not need to go to your backup than have to scramble at the last minute. I would note too that it helps to have access to their healthcare portal, as well as having copies of all the pertinent documents accessible from your phone. You can usually load copies of the POA’s and advance directives into the healthcare portal as well.

H1235

Welcome. Dementia can be a slow progression. It’s also very hard on the primary caregiver. It’s possible your mom out lives your dad. Accidents happen. It would probably be a good idea to get a DPOA for your dad as well. Your mom will no longer be able to act for him if needed. You need to be prepared for these situations. We also did an advanced directive. If she is still able it might be a good idea. It just goes through what she would want for health care should specific problems arise. Would she want treatment for cancer, a feeding tube, would she wants be resuscitated etc. without it your dad or you would be left to make the decision. The advanced directive allows your mom to make these decisions and hopefully doesn’t leave you and your dad facing heart breaking decisions. Somewhere in here I read that a trust made it very difficult for the DPOA to get access to the money needed for AL care. It might be worth asking some what if questions to a lawyer or just looking into it a bit.

MaryEllenDaughter

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/71587/healthcare-representative-for-connecticut-vs-medical-poa

I would have your father set up you as POA in his will should something happen to him. My mother was my father’s POA and caregiver. She was healthy u til she was not nd died suddenly. Thank goodness she set up POA and a health care proxy caregiver for him. Things would have been much more complicated. Also my Dad is in CT and I am in Massachusetts. The legal document was essential because probate needed us to sign an affidavit proving who we were since we lived outside of CT. My sister in law is POA for dad- money, and I am health care proxy or medical POA. Glad we have a lawyer to let us understand all the legal differences between the states as far as caregiving options etc. for us it was easier to do both. As far as mom’s estate, she changed a lot and did not leave a trust, but left certain things in my dads name.