I live in NJ and I'm my mother's POA and Medical POA. Mom has Alzheimer's and moved to CO so that my brother can care for her. Recently, she requires hospice and my brother needs to be Medical POA for quick health decisions and paperwork. As POA, can I add him to Mom's Medical POA? My family is very close and there are no issues with trust or control.
Can I have Medical POA paperwork done in NJ and send it to Colorado for "X" marks the spot type signature? Or can my brother have a new one done in Colorado? The reality is, my Mom will not understand what is going on.
I suggest that your brother talk to the staff at the NH and see how critical having someone officially named in that role is in how they operate. My mother had never named POA or Medical proxy. The nursing home wanted to know which of us 7 kids would be the primary point of contact. When she went on hospice, hospice wanted one person to deal with. There was never any difficulty about this, and nothing we couldn't handle for mom. Since you say there is no conflict among the siblings, perhaps you can get by without the legal designations.
The only alternative I can think of since your mom can't understand the legal work would be for your brother to become her guardian. If you can handle things without that expensive step, I think that's what I'd try to do.
Familymatters, sorry but no. Power of Attorney is given by the principal, in his or her right mind, to the person he or she appoints; and that's that. If your mother is unable to understand what she is signing she cannot change her existing POA or create a new one.
Perhaps the best thing to do would be to ask the hospice provider what they suggest. They'll cope. After all, they deal with plenty of patients who haven't even got round to appointing POAs at all. Don't worry, there shouldn't be any detrimental impact on your mother's care; it's just an administrative tangle to sort out.
gave the answer that works in our case, acting as agent with your instructions on behalf of your parent. Study every paragraph of your POA, depending on when it was written and how well the lawyer wrote, it will cover many situations. However, when it comes to using it, you may hit temporary roadblocks because of staff lack of education about your existing POA. That is why your efforts to fully understand the documents and their proper and FULL use will help.
Hospice will take care of Mom's medical needs and she does have DNR. However, the day to day Medical issues/questions, hospital visits, etc usually request the Medical POA. I want to make my brother's life easier as local caregiver to have the Medical POA. The modern conveniences of technology does not help when I can't be reached quickly in NJ due to time difference, work, or no phone with me.