Can my mom still write her own checks if she designates a POA?

Yes of coarse she can, it is her call on everything until she becomes incompetent or no longer wants to handle these functions.

We find on this forum that alot of people really don't understand the responsibility of POA. First, the person who lives the closest and will probably be giving the care needs to be the POA for financial and Medical. Both of u should not be the POA. One can be secondary in case #1 can't follow thru. For me, I will be giving one daughter financial and the other Medical because she is the RN. With each being secondary to the other.

Financial is you carry out Moms wishes. You handle her money when she can't. Same with Medical, you're carrying out Moms wishes.

There is "immediate" which starts as soon as its signed and witnessed. "Springing" only becomes in effect when its found the person is incompetent to handle their affairs.

It would be good to check the terms of the POA. Sometimes they are only activated when the donor loses competence, in which case your mother shouldn’t be writing checks. Just read the terms – it should be clear.

Worried is correct. Having financial POA simply gives you the ABILITY to manage your mom's affairs; it doesn't negate her own powers. She can still pay her bills, buy and sell property, etc.

I might also suggest setting up auto-pay for the bulk of her bills. I did this for my mom when she was still in a mild stage of dementia, and she loved it. She could still log into her bank account or look at her paper statement and see the bills being paid. She still felt independent while not having to remember to physically sign checks each month.

Yes of course she can write her own checks. POA doesn’t take powers away from her while she is still competent.