Explain the different POA's to me please.
Is a medical POA without an end date, signed by my dad before his diagnosis, good enough to get us through the decisions to put him in memory care when we need to?
Here are our details. My mother and father (87, 86 respectively) live in an independent facility that they moved into this last September due to dangerous behaviors (by dad) at home. My mother is fully independent and clear headed. My father has Alzheimer's and is progressing fast. If my mother was not with him, he could not live alone. She has become his full time care-giver, per her choice, and we can't change her mind on this. He does all of his own hygeine ADLs, but everything else, she does. Before his diagnosis and his dangerous decisions, they had signed POA's for medical and financial. My brother and I both have financial POA. My sister and other brother (both registered nurses) have medical POA. I manage all of the finances and am the only local child so I take them to appointments, solve problems, help with decision making, etc. My siblings help virtually when I am unavailable and sometimes come help in person. We are working very well together and I have their total support.
These POAs look like they are only good until death. This makes sense because we don't need to manage medical care after death. My brother is the executor of the trust but there really aren't enough assets to have concern there. I guess my question is: Is there a different kind of POA or a different designation needed when we get to the point that hard decisions must be made about assisted/long-term/memory care? I know if my dad has any cognitive logic when the time comes, he is going to fight and fight hard. He is already fighting to move "home" because there is nothing wrong with him and everyone, including the doctors, are wrong and won't listen to him. My mom will always support my dad even if it is to her detriment. I will not override my mom's wishes as long as she is cognitively solid. However, my dad already cannot make his own decisions.
What type of POA or guardianship is needed so that we can make the hard decisions that will need to be made? I think the forms we have are enough, but I don't want to get another six months down this road and realize we don't know what we need to know. I am mostly concerned with the medical/care team decisions that will need to be made.
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The financial PoAs will need to work together with the medical PoAs if facility care becomes the solution.
PoA authority ends the moment the principal passes away. The the Executor puts the wheels in motion per the Will.
Your state's law about this might be different.
My mom wasn't thrilled about moving to an assisted-living facility but we (my siblings and I) were able to persuade her to do so while she was still competent to make the decision. If she hadn't consented to move and we still thought she should, we would have had to file for a guardianship.