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DPOA & Health Care Proxy

em2020
em2020 Member Posts: 3
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in Caring for a Parent

I have durable power of attorney for my mother, (who did this all 15 years ago). I also am her health care proxy. How does this all work? If the time comes that she should be in a memory care unit, but she does not want to. Does a doctor have to "activate" either of those in order to have her go into a memory care unit? I don't like the idea of putting her somewhere she doesn't want to be but she's started to wander & is becoming too much for her partner to handle. Moving her in with me or other family members is not the answer unfortunately.

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  • H1235
    H1235 Member Posts: 1,100
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    It really depends on the DPOA. Some can be a spring form ( I think that’s what it’s called). With this you would need doctors to declare she is not able to make decisions before it is activated. I believe that most basic DPOA would allow you to take your mom to mc or Al with you having the right to sign all the paperwork. I needed to provide copies of the DPOA for both Al and snf. My mom has not signed anything, probably would refuse. Since the document is 15 years old it might be a good idea to see a lawyer and make sure it is still good. Seems like I remember someone talking about having trouble with an older DPOA. I have attached a link that may be helpful.

    https://www.consumerfinance.gov/consumer-tools/managing-someone-elses-money/

  • psg712
    psg712 Member Posts: 548
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    My mom's DPOA did not require activation with doctors statements. I was able to sign papers for her placement and other business matters. The only problems I had were with some of her investment accounts - they questioned the DPOA because mom had executed it more than ten years prior to me taking over her finances. They required me to go to a notary and sign a sworn statement that the DPOA had not been altered during that time. Since then, no problems with my using it. It seems like public record by now since I've had to provide to just about every medical, financial and other entity who serves mom in any way.

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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