Powers of Attorney and Advance Directives are used to document who will make decisions and manage affairs when a person is no longer able to do so, as well as record the person’s healthcare wishes. The links below are for state-specific forms, where applicable. 

Powers of Attorney for Finance (POA)

• Appoints an agent to manage finances and property, including paying bills, making bank deposits, managing investments, collecting insurance benefits, selling property and more

• Depending on how it is written, a Power of Attorney for Finance will be one of the following:

  • General: only in effect until the person becomes incapacitated 

  • Durable : remains in effect even if the person becomes incapacitated. A free template can be found here.

  • Special or Limited: grants authority to make decisions only for specified activities

  • Springing: effective when the person becomes incapacitated or at a specified time

Advance Healthcare Directives 

• A broad category of legal instructions outlining wishes for healthcare and treatment decisions and naming a healthcare agent, proxy, representative, or surrogate.  

• Decisions may include which treatments and medications are received, admission and discharge from a hospital or nursing home, what in-home care is provided, and more

• Power of Attorney for Healthcare or Medical Power Power of Attorney: specifies when and how the document becomes effective, and may include general information on healthcare wishes

• Living Will: defines healthcare wishes in the event of a terminal illness or at end-of-life

• Advance Health Care Directive: defines healthcare wishes for when an individual cannot speak for themselves. It is not limited to end-of-life situations

• Dementia Directive: not a legal document but captures an individual’s wishes as they relate to the care and treatment they want as their dementia progresses

Medical Orders signed by a physician and the individual. A copy should be kept in a visible place in the home 

• Do-Not-Resuscitate (DNR): for individuals with terminal illness or serious medical conditions who do not want to be resuscitated if their heart stops.

• Physician’s Order for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST): for individuals who are frail or with serious medical conditions who want to specify their treatment at end-of-life. May be called Provider's Order in some states. 

Considerations

• Power of Attorney documents can be written by an attorney or by completing a state-specific form and often require a notary or witness. 

• It is recommended to use an attorney, especially if the estate is complicated or there are multiple family members and involved individuals. 

• Someone with dementia or another cognitive impairment may still be able to name an agent. An attorney can determine whether someone has the capacity to name an agent.

• The named agent will have significant responsibility so should be a trusted individual or entity.  The document and wishes should be reviewed with the agent.

• If someone has not named a financial or healthcare agent, the state will assume the responsibility and make decisions on behalf of the individual.

• Depending on the state, POAs have legal and ethical requirements for the tracking and management of finances.  A tool like Advocord can help with this. 

Starting the Conversation

• Starting the conversation about legal documents goes best when you frame it as an act of care and preparedness. Rather than opening with "I'm worried you can't handle this anymore," try something like "I want to make sure things go the way you'd want them to, no matter what happens." Keep the focus on being prepared and not on decline.

• Remind then that these documents actually protect independence rather than take it away: a power of attorney only ever activates if and when they're unable to make decisions themselves, and until then, they retain full control. This can often ease their fear that you are taking over control.

• Keep the emphasis on honoring their wishes: the whole point of a will, healthcare directive, or POA is to make sure that if the time comes when they can't speak for themselves, the people who love them already know exactly what they want and can act on it with confidence instead of guesswork. Approached this way, the conversation becomes less about mortality and more about making sure their voice still carries weight later.