How to activate power of attorney for your dad

When you are reading this

Your dad called and could not remember what he ate for breakfast. Or the doctor mentioned the word capacity. Or the hospital handed you a folder of paperwork and asked who decides if he cannot decide for himself.

This is the conversation about power of attorney.

What POA actually is

Power of attorney is a legal document that lets one person make decisions on behalf of another. It is not one thing. It is a family of things: financial POA, healthcare POA, durable POA, springing POA, limited POA. Each one covers a different surface of your dad’s life.

The language of the document tells you when it activates, what it covers, and what it does not. Read it before you walk into a bank. Read it again before you walk into a hospital.

Five questions worth taking with you

[Full guide coming. Until then, the questions to bring to the attorney or notary your dad sat across from when he signed:]

• Is this POA effective immediately, or does it spring on a capacity letter?
• What financial decisions does it cover, and what does it exclude?
• Does my dad have a separate healthcare proxy, and does this office have a copy?
• Is the document recorded in any state registry, and if so where?
• If we need to update or revoke this, what is the process, and how long does it take?

Where I come in

When you ask me a question about your dad’s situation, I will tell you what the medical literature says, what an attorney typically advises in similar cases, and what I do not know. POA is one of the moments where having an attorney matters more than anything I can do. I will help you walk in prepared.