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I have DPOA and it was effective immediately. It’s my understanding that it is a springform DPOA that needs to put into effect by a doctor. I believe the D (durable) means it remains active even if the person becomes incapacitated. This is why most here talk about a DPOA. A POA I think would not be active if the person was incapacitated. So I’m not sure why you would want that. My moms lawyer would not appoint two people to share responsibility as DPOA. I don’t think it’s a good idea either. It’s complicated enough keeping track and saving recipes for every penny I spend. I would not want to have two people trying to do it. The lawyer said it would cause problems and I agree. The medical POA I share with my brother. But as the DPOA the doctor always just contacts me. They ask me if she should get a flu shot, or if medicine can be changed. I’m not sure why my brother is not included. We also had mom do a living will. It just goes through what kind of medical intervention she would want or not want. For example, feeding tube, chemo, resuscitation etc. When you get her settled you will want to make sure the doctor/hospital/AL all have copies on file. I’m not a lawyer, this is just my understanding of it. Hope this helps.

I agree with not splitting the responsibility for power of attorney or health representative. Our lawyer did not recommend that. Also, I don't see why the paperwork would need to be redone. I think you brother should be named as successor in these papers.

My mom’s POA form has spots to indicate when it became effective, and how long it is in effect. In other words, she could ( if she wanted) say that it was only in effect until she became incapacitated. That’s not the box we checked. We checked the boxes that said effective immediately, and in effect until death or revoked. Therefore it is a durable power of attorney. I could begin acting on her behalf immediately. She could also act on her own behalf if she wanted( she didn’t want to).

You really want to go with the Durable Power effective immediately if possible. "Springing" POA's are designed to protect the "principal" from premature attempts by the person appointed as POA to usurp authority and/or financial control, but they can create serious difficulties if an uncooperative parent then refuses to be evaluated when the time comes. (And usually, by the time the person needs a capacity evaluation, they don't have the "capacity" to be helpful about it.)

If you anticipate transferring the POA at some point, ask the attorney to create a POA in which both you and your brother are appointed, but only one can serve at a time, and in the order nominated. That is, if you are nominated as serving first, your brother cannot serve until or unless you resign from serving. If you were to divide the time between you, then matters become more complicated.

I have not yet sold property, but have sent electronic copies of the POA documents to multiple entities including hospitals, financial institutions, and memory care. Some investment companies require that you sign their own proprietary form and won’t accept a general DPOA, be sure to check about that if your mother has accounts that you will need to access. Very handy to scan these into my computer and then can be sent by email. No one has yet asked for the original.

uh oh. It sounds like what you have is a “springing” POA which is not what you want….you want durable which is effective immediately.

In addition to keeping a copy on hand at all times: if LO is in a provider network that uses MyChart or other medical records management software, you should be able to have your POA/DPOA docs uploaded there, along with Living Will; DNR; etc.

In my mother's case, I asked her best friend of 50+ years to accompany her to the law firm office to make her feel more comfortable about what was discussed and to be a witness to my mother agreeing to the documents. As opposed to me, since I was being named the DPOA agent. I felt better having a neutral party there. Especially because a PWD (certainly my mother) can lapse so easily into that suspicious/conspiracy phase.

"When I sold my parents' houses, the title company required the originals be sent to the courthouse to record the deed."

Oh, lawdy, releasing the originals from my possession would terrify me! I even wish that I had asked the law firm to have multiple originals signed (as backup) and even additional photocopies stamped "certified" or such.

this doesn’t make sense Merla. If worded correctly, POA gives you authority to both make the care decisions and control the finances in her behalf, because she is not capable of doing either. Either you’re misunderstanding, or you’re not getting the correct legal advice?