My wife is in the hospital and her mother who has POA will not let me see her. Do I have any rights?

Is you wife conscious, alert, and able to express her wishes? That is a key element here.

I just hope this case is not as dire as Terri's case! My prayers are with the patient, that everything will be settled in a peaceful way.

The Terry Schiavo case was due to her not having a Living Will and therefore her family having no way to determine whether she would have wanted extreme measures such as a feeding tube to prolong her life in a vegetative state. A POA wouldn't have the right to make that decision in any event. However, unless there's an issue about life-extending extreme measures, the Living Will isn't relevant either. I agree you should try to get a copy of the POA instrument, but I can't imagine it extends as far as deciding who can visit in the hospital.

The Terry Schiavo case was all about no one having clear authority over her since she had not assigned POA to anyone at all. Because there is an unrevoked POA document existing, the hospital will pay more attention to that than a marriage license. Unless there is a clear end or limit to the document's powers, you may be on the short end. Through an attorney, I would immediately request a copy of the POA being used to determine if there are limited powers. You might need to have a judge issue orders to the hospital if it is clear that the POA was temporary.

Hm. In the context of AgingCare, it's unusual for a mother to have Power of Attorney for her daughter - normally, here anyway, it's the other way about.

So, why did your wife need someone else to act with POA on her behalf?

Was your wife able to consent to marriage by 2014? Was your MIL happy about the marriage? Does your MIL recognise its validity?

I admit I am being nosy; forgive me. I am sure that Pam Stegman's advice will be the best route to follow.

Ask for the hospital Ombudsman to help

I don't think a POA should have control over this decision at all. A guardian maybe, but not a POA. Is there anything actually stopping you from entering the hospital? As mom2mom said, I have never had any difficulty getting into a patient's hospital room except where you have to be buzzed in by staff. Surely a patient's spouse would be considered next of kin in any event. Something does not seem right here.

Is you wife conscious and able to express her wishes. POA is supposed to carry out the wishes of the person they have POA over and, unless someone is unable to verbalize the wishes, I don't think the hospital would side with POA over the patient themselves.

In what way is she making it so that you are unable to visit? Is it some kind of secured area like the ICU?

I have never had any problem walking into any hospital to visit anyone. (except needing to be buzzed in to the ER or ICU)