You need one document for Medical POA/ advance directive and one document for Power of Attorney. DPOA means that the POA lasts to death unless withdrawn and POA means virtually the same thing. What matters is how strong the document is, how well written, and what it allows you to do and to accomplish. Tell us your own circumstances. Are you the principal or is that an elder, a parent? Is this a document written as part of a will, say a springing POA? To use when it is needed, or are you going now to an attorney with your elder to create a POA for use with now or in future when you need it. General POA means really only that this can cover a whole lot. You are in charge of finances and bills and selling property and banking and etc, and all the paperwork which must be meticulous and with files to match. Tell us a bit more about your situation and what exact question you have. Do consider seeing an Elder Law Attorney for advice. Tell them you want only an hour of time, an hourly fee. Expect to pay approx. 350.00, so have a list of questions that will take up the hour of time. Some on Elder Care Forum have done online forms and had them witnessed and notarized. I myself prefer an attorney to have it bullet proof and well done and to cover everything you can think of.
A Durable POA is better then a General POA and a medical should be a Durable Medical Care POA.
I found the whole general durable thing confusing because it reads a General Durable POA, which then has boxes to check for what you want your representative to handle. This is in part, because you can assign someone as GDPOA to handle a single transaction for a short period of time.
I would consult a lawyer about what you have vs. what you need to have.
Here in NC you can have a medical POA and a durable POA which will cover any and all issues that may arrive. I believe that both are pretty standard here in the U.S. I just finished finalizing my POA's and they are now in effect immediately, as my lawyer said that the kind that are effective immediately are better than the ones that you have to prove someone incompetent(springing)before they will kick in, as that can take too much time.
PoA rules vary by state. Since you don't list yours, here is a website that has links for each state:
https://powerofattorney.uslegal.com/state-laws
What other bases are you worried that won't get covered in a DPoA? There are a lot of boxes of authority to tick, and I think its comprehensive.
An important base to cover is that the bar to activate the authority should not be too high. Mine is only 1 medical diagnosis, not 2 (I did this for the sake of my sons, so that advocating for me isn't onerous right out of the shoot). Getting the diagnosis of incapacity is critical to releasing the PoA authority. Siblings who are fighting over a parent presents a different challenge, so maybe 2 diagnosis is better. FYI in all my adventures as an acting PoA, I've never had anyone ask to see the "2" medical diagnosis to date. Just my layman's opinion, cuz I'm no lawyer.
Sorry, here is more info. I actually have two that I signed almost 11 years ago, a general and durable for my father in Texas. His attorney friend set this up with notary for us to sign after he got out of the hospital. I have been using the durable, but realized I sent the general to his bank which I need to follow up with and have access to. I prefer for them to have the durable because I know it goes beyond what the general does so if I switch it out will it be okay.....since I have two?
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DPOA means that the POA lasts to death unless withdrawn and POA means virtually the same thing. What matters is how strong the document is, how well written, and what it allows you to do and to accomplish.
Tell us your own circumstances. Are you the principal or is that an elder, a parent?
Is this a document written as part of a will, say a springing POA? To use when it is needed, or are you going now to an attorney with your elder to create a POA for use with now or in future when you need it.
General POA means really only that this can cover a whole lot. You are in charge of finances and bills and selling property and banking and etc, and all the paperwork which must be meticulous and with files to match.
Tell us a bit more about your situation and what exact question you have.
Do consider seeing an Elder Law Attorney for advice. Tell them you want only an hour of time, an hourly fee. Expect to pay approx. 350.00, so have a list of questions that will take up the hour of time.
Some on Elder Care Forum have done online forms and had them witnessed and notarized. I myself prefer an attorney to have it bullet proof and well done and to cover everything you can think of.
I found the whole general durable thing confusing because it reads a General Durable POA, which then has boxes to check for what you want your representative to handle. This is in part, because you can assign someone as GDPOA to handle a single transaction for a short period of time.
I would consult a lawyer about what you have vs. what you need to have.
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I just finished finalizing my POA's and they are now in effect immediately, as my lawyer said that the kind that are effective immediately are better than the ones that you have to prove someone incompetent(springing)before they will kick in, as that can take too much time.
https://powerofattorney.uslegal.com/state-laws
What other bases are you worried that won't get covered in a DPoA? There are a lot of boxes of authority to tick, and I think its comprehensive.
An important base to cover is that the bar to activate the authority should not be too high. Mine is only 1 medical diagnosis, not 2 (I did this for the sake of my sons, so that advocating for me isn't onerous right out of the shoot). Getting the diagnosis of incapacity is critical to releasing the PoA authority. Siblings who are fighting over a parent presents a different challenge, so maybe 2 diagnosis is better. FYI in all my adventures as an acting PoA, I've never had anyone ask to see the "2" medical diagnosis to date. Just my layman's opinion, cuz I'm no lawyer.