If you’ve taken the time to consider estate planning, you’ve likely run across the concept of power of attorney. A power of attorney (POA) can be helpful in an incapacity strategy. It can also provide transparency in business or financial matters.
But can that general power of attorney cover medical decisions? The simple answer is that it could. But to avoid confusion and specify clearly stated mandates and directions (and to follow the specific laws of your state), you’re better off with separate financial and medical POA arrangements.
A power of attorney is a legal written arrangement involving two parties. There is you (the principal). And there is a trusted individual or individuals you select to carry out your wishes. This individual is known as an agent or, sometimes, an attorney-in-fact. When you set up a power of attorney, you allow someone else to act on your behalf legally.
Under this arrangement, your agent might be charged to handle your entire life and business affairs. Or that individual might be limited to certain activities, like selling assets. Furthermore, those “powers” can be permanent or temporary.
The power of attorney can be triggered by an event that might include your illness or incapacitation. The idea of a POA is that a trusted individual carries out your decisions if age, illness, or some other reason prohibits you from doing so.
A financial power of attorney (FPOA) gives your agent the authority to make financial and legal decisions on your behalf. That power granted through an FPOA can be as broad as managing bank accounts and investments, paying bills, and filing paperwork and tax returns. Or it can be specific to a particular situation, like selling real estate.
The FPOA complements estate planning by clarifying a situation in which you might be unable to manage financial or legal affairs due to age or illness. But the FPOA can be created for convenience, too. For example, you might be out of the country or unavailable for a real estate closing. An FPOA permits your agent to act on your behalf in that scenario.
A Medical Power of Attorney (MPOA), Health Care Power of Attorney (HCPA), or Health Care Proxy allows you to designate an agent to make healthcare decisions on your behalf if you can’t make your own.
The MPOA can give your agent the power to act on your behalf regarding procedures, treatments, medications, facilities, and end-of-life care. The American Bar Association also offers a “bare-bones” guide and document that lets you appoint an agent with broad medical decision-making authority on your behalf. This form is legal in all but four states: New Hampshire, Ohio, Texas, and Wisconsin.
Additionally, some states might have additional requirements for an MPOA, including specific advanced directives or health care proxies.
The MPOA is an essential addition to advanced care planning. It allows you to state your medical treatment preferences to your trusted agent if you’re incapacitated due to illness, accident or age.
Given the importance of a power of attorney, the best strategy is to draw up different documents that cover financial and health management separately. The final thing to understand about a power of attorney and what it contains is that the arrangement needs to comply with state rules and regulations. When considering drawing up a financial or medical POA (or both), consult with an attorney familiar with your state’s requirements and legal standards.