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My sister has POA-medical. But we need DPOA for my mom, who has moderate Alzheimer's.

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Kristenlc1
Kristenlc1 Member Posts: 2
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Member
edited July 10 in Caring for a Parent

My mom can't make her own medical decisions due to advancing Alzheimer's. Right now my sister only has HIPPA-level access to my mom's medical info per the existing POA, which was drawn up years ago when she just had mild cog impairment as a dx . Do we need anything beyond a doctor's letter (or two?) and an eldercare lawyer who draws up the DPOA based on the doctor's letters? Thank you!

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  • Quilting brings calm
    Quilting brings calm Member Posts: 2,847
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    edited July 10

    There are 3 types of legal and financial POAs. One that is immediately effective and terminates upon incompetence. One that is immediately and doesn’t terminate upon incompetence. One that only takes effect upon incompetence. Each of those can be granted specific powers, or all powers.

    It sounds as if your mom granted your sister a springing type financial and legal POA. That requires doctor’s signatures verifying incompetence to become effective. It still would only give your access to powers that were listed in the original POA. If your sister was given only a medical POA and no other type of POA, she can’t get a legal and financial one once your mom is incompetent to sign one. Your sister would have to go to court to get guardianship in that case.

  • towhee
    towhee Member Posts: 500
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    Member
    edited 8:36AM

    Welcome to the discussion boards.

    It sounds as though you want a totally new medical POA. If so, and you take a doctors letter to a lawyer stating that your mom is incompetent, that lawyer is highly unlikely to do what you want. To create legal documents for a person (your mom is the client not you), a lawyer must believe, by their own observation and judgement, that the person (your mom) understands, in that moment, what they are doing. If your mom cannot meet that criteria, then no new documents will be created and your only recourse is guardianship/conservator. It would have to go thru the courts and you would need a lawyer.

    I agree with Quilting in the description of the three types of financial POAs. When it comes to Medical POAs it is usually somewhat different. Usually what you have is a HIPPA release, which is good only so long as the doctor you are dealing with believes that the patient is competent to make their own medical decisions and it does not give anyone else the right to make decisions. A HIPPA release is only about sharing information, and it can have restrictions on the type of info that it allows the doctor to share. Then you have a medical POA which lets someone else make decisions, but only after a doctor determines that the patient is unable to do so. The way the medical POA is written can vary, but you do not have to take doctors letters to a lawyer to have it be in force.

    If you read your documents again and there is anything unclear please consult a lawyer.

Commonly Used Abbreviations


DH = Dear Husband
DW= Dear Wife, Darling Wife
LO = Loved One
ES = Early Stage
EO = Early Onset
FTD = Frontotemporal Dementia
VD = Vascular Dementia
MC = Memory Care
AL = Assisted Living
POA = Power of Attorney
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