Find Senior Care (City or Zip)
Join Now Log In
G
gabbiez Asked September 2014

If I'm DPOA, medical POA and patient advocate. Am I responsible for his care like a guardian?

Or is it just financial? My father is his own guardian, sister and I are poa's durable and medical with Patient advocate rights. He is refusing to go into any kind of a home, afc or nursing or assist. living. My sister and I are both wore out, and all other family members refuse to help in anyway. We are allowed 30 hrs. of help a week thru area agency on ageing , sadly this is not nearly enough care to begin giving us a break. My health is failing fast and sisters job is in jeopardy,I at one point wasted my $1000.00 to try and get guardianship, only to have family members stand against me over BS reasons and things like "land patient", no one would help get my dad to the court hearing and the woman who was the guardian ad-lidem was JOKE...she honestly believed him when he sai he could walk, he has walked in almost 2 years now....I need some real help and answers to this problem. Since he is his own guardian and has told me to get out in the past, what happens if we just leave him on his own?

pamstegma Sep 2014
If the court appointed you a POA, you must resign to the court officers in writing. Explain your situation, that he cannot be left alone and it is up to the court to place him in a protective facility, since he refuses. Put the ball back in their court.

MaggieMarshall Sep 2014
Acting as a care giver is not an obligation of either powers of attorney you hold. You can even resign as both of those if you wish . . . in writing to the principle and his attorney.

However, since you have been his care giver, I think you have an absolute obligation to get your local Council on Aging involved (or whatever senior services is called in your area) and give them some reasonable notice that you are abdicating your care-taking responsibilities on such-and-such a date.

If the obligation isn't a legal one, it is most certainly a moral one. I'm thinking if you do anything less, you are guilty of neglect.

ADVERTISEMENT


ADVERTISEMENT

Ask a Question

Subscribe to
Our Newsletter