If I am going to be gone for 2 weeks, can I give temporary POA for my mom who has dementia to a friend?

May be able to give someone permission to seek medical care in your absence, have it signed by notary. Just be sure you specify dates you are approving. And make a copy of your POA and insurance card. I would also call wards doctor to make them aware,just to cover your butt. There is a such thing as a surrogate guardian too, just an fyi

I wish again to thank all for the info...yall have been very helpful... Since I am a only child and my mom is also its concerning when you want to take a trip.. I have spoke with the al and I have a great friend that will be here for my mom.. I just have to put in writing that she can take my mom to the dr or er and yes the cruise ships have emergency numbers for family to call.. I also have a DNR so that is taken care off ..

This may sound terrible but sometimes I don’t want to be reached! When I am able to get away for a few days I don’t want to have to worry about where the closest airport is. Depending on how far your moms dementia is I would have her sign a paper giving instructions like the doctor suggested. Even years ago when I was a youth sponsor we had parents or guardians sign permission slips for us to be in charge until we got ahold of parents (not that many cell phones back then). Have fun on your cruise!!

You may want to ask an attorney your questions/concerns just to be sure.

Depending on where your cruise goes, you may need to contact your cell phone server to see if you need an international service added to your phone. Our son did this when he studied over in Europe one summer.

I think a cruise ship should have wifi for the jet I flew in to Hawaii from the US had wifi that worked the whole flight.

By the way any cost for a call to a cruise liner etc should be picked up by the estate not the P.O.A. trying to approximate a normal life especially for an emergency

For the record - plain old vanilla POA IS a temporary arrangement - that only comes into play when the person is temporarily incapable to make decisions, say unconscious or in a coma. Once the person regains capability, that POA goes away. Durable POA is a different animal. It remains in effect.

As others have said, no, you cannot appoint a deputy. If mom were capable, she could have an alternate set up, but more than likely she is not competent enough mentally for an attorney to do this.

Anyway... I think cwillie's comment would be best to follow up on. When we/I signed all the AL paperwork, there were medical directives to be set. Check with them on that. While discussing that, even if there are directives, you could ask them how you can handle the situation if/when you cannot be reached. They may allow some kind of affidavit, notarized and all that happy stuff for an alternate.

Sternotherus - you said "There are places where you can’t get cell service - if you’re a wilderness adventurer it can be a problem." I am FAR from being a wilderness adventurer, but I have to warn EVERY person I deal with, for myself, my cats, mom, whoever, that if I head out, usually SE but there are other similar zones in other directions, there is a 40 minute dead zone (I've dubbed it the Zombie Zone - you do not want to break down out there as there is NO SIGNAL!) I laugh whenever I see the US Cellular ads, where they say even "Way Way Way Out Here"... I laugh because even though it is not my provider, it IS the cell service that covers this area... Way WAY WAY WAAAYYY out here... You'd think I was living in the outback... I've had to drive 30-40 minutes away to activate a phone because their service picks up here... Oh wait, never mind the Zombie Zone - my phone can be in the house (connected to WiFi), with me, on the counter charging, in the backyard, whatever, and a call does not register - no missed call, no history in the recent calls... So I also warn them of this too and say if it goes straight to voice mail, there is no service so please leave a quick message - THAT might get through eventually, quicker than a call, and when I have service again I will return the call.

Now that I related the Zombie story, I recall that the AL actually did send mom off to the ER once after a tumble via ambulance because I was in that Zombie Zone and did not get the message until later. She was not really hurt, but since I was not available to make the decision, they made the decision to have her checked out just in case. So texasgirl45, definitely check in with the staff at the AL. Even if you have an alternate set up, what would they do if they could not reach that person? There must be some kind of medical directives on file.

Check with the cruise ship people and ask if they will have wifi on board. I would think so.

When my friends made me their POA, they also named a second and third person. When I leave town, I alert the third POA who lives in the same area. I also leave the phone numbers of each motel where we will be staying, along with our cell phone number and email address. We can be contacted easily. When we get to our motel, we check the cell phone and emails for any concerns. So far, no problems.

There are places where you can’t get cell service - if you’re a wilderness adventurer it can be a problem. I found this out while camping on an island in the Sea of Cortez for a week. It caused delays in my Mom’s long-term care insurance. Sorry, I know this is not an answer, but, rather, a caution. I hope you find a good solution.

When I go away I just leave numbers of family living close by & I have written up that they can give consent for treatment when I'm unavailable until I can be reached -

I travel to British Columbia several times a year & other places & never had an issue - with today's technology you are never far from a phone/cell phone/ computer for long unless you plan a trip to Antartica -

Don't sweat it to much just give them the alternate contact list & the witnessed letter detailing that they can initiate treatment in case of emergency because this could happen when you go to a movie or a play when you're at home so where cell phones need to be off - you have a life & it doesn't need to be on hold especially if you pre-do these arrangements

There is very little - if anything - involved in being a POA that needs your actual physical presence, even a medical emergency can be handled with phone calls and email. The most important thing is to have medical directives in place, and since your mom is in an AL that will have been part of the admissions requirements.

Good, I would think that the cruise ship would have wifi that a smart phone or a tablet could work through. When are you leaving?

Thanks everyone for the input.. I forgot to mention I will be on a cruise and would not be able to return at once.. I will speak with the assisted living home first ..

When our daughter was younger we often took her friends along on our vacations ( only child situation). We had the family write a note that said we could make emergency decisions until the parents could be notified, and did the same if daughter was with another family. Not a POA, just a letter of intent perhaps. Not sure if it would have held up, never had to use it.. Daughters BF had a dad who was a Dr, he suggested it for emergencys. Maybe this could work? But it is different now with cell phones and instant communication.

Yes, but she is asking can she sign a temporary POA. No, only her mother can. Her mother has dementia and may or may not be competent to sign such a document.

There is temporary POA. This is used when someone is asked to temporary stand in for them. In my case it was for my Mom to make medical decisions for my daughter while she was on vacation with my Mom. Once she was home the POA was not valid anymore.

Texasgirl, you can still be your Mom's Power of Attorney no matter where you go in the world. With today's use of iphones, tablets, Skype, if you are always in communication contact.

Never heard of a Temporary Power of Attorney. And if there was such a thing, only your Mom can appoint a secondary person to be on the POA, and Mom would need to sign it.

You can't give your POA to anyone temporary or not. Only your mother could do something like that and her dementia, depending on how bad it is, might prohibit her doing that. Give the assisted living home your cell phone number and tell them to contact you if they need you.