Hi Mary,
When my Garry was first diagnosed, one of the first things we did was POA’s for medical and financial. We both did a Durable POA which remains in effect if the person is no longer able to handle their affairs. We did ours through Legal Zoom with step by srep directions and we and our 2 witnesses signed them and they were notarized. My husband is much farther along in the progression of Alz now and his doctors already discuss with me his medical but at his next visit I will alow them to make a copy for their records to invoke it and I plan to invoke the financial at our financial institutios as soon as our weather gets a little warmer. Hope this helps to answer your question. 😊

Mary, my wife has a Durable Power of Attorney (DPOA) agreement (legally executed and witnessed) which appoints me as her “Attorney-in-fact.” In addition to this document, I have a letter from my wife’s gerontologist stating that in her expert opinion, my wife is no longer capable of making financial or medical decisions in her own best interest. These two documents, in combination, provide the legal basis for me to make legal and financial decisions for my wife and to act on those decisions.

I have been asked for a copy of the DPOA by both financial institutions (banks) and medical practices. As long as I could provide a copy of the DPOA and show a photo id, the legality of the agreement has not been challenged. For example, my wife had a savings account in her name only which had a modest balance. I was able to close the account and receive the balance as a bank check by presenting a copy of the DPOA and showing my driver’s license. In another instance, I was able to get a copy of my wife’s CT scan from one medical office to provide to her gerontologist by providing a copy of the DPOA.

The DPOA was prepared by an attorney as part of a larger set of services. Several people have stated that they were successful using a service to prepare a DPOA. If your needs are straight forward and do not involve other financial assets, then such a service may well meet your needs. However, if you need to plan for the disposition of other financial assets (your home, IRAs, . . .) then a good elder care attorney can save you thousands of dollars. For example, the attorney with whom I worked set up an irrevocable trust into which I, as “grantor”, transferred ownership of our home. When I die, my daughter will receive the property of the trust as a beneficiary. The cost basis of the property will be “stepped up” at the time of my death thereby avoiding tens of thousands of dollars in capital gains taxes. I would not have known about this aspect of trusts without a smart attorney.

Legal Zoom may be sufficient, but we chose to do Durable Power of Attorney, Medical Surrogate, and Living Will through an attorney. Each State/Country has different laws in these areas. If you move, be sure all of the above are valid for your new location. Your kids should have copies of all these, and understand your wishes.
WE chose to downsize to a condo, sell/donate EVERYTHING necessary to avoid even a storage area. We had each had to despose of/sort our parents "stuff", and didn't want our kids to have very much to do when we pass. INVIGORATING AND LIBERATING EXERCISE!
You aren't going to take anything tangible to Heaven!
Even planned our funeral services and final expenses. Again, having to do all this for each of our parents was a burden we want to spare our children. Our 4 children and spouses, and our 19 grands ALL get along with each other...we want to keep it that way, with our final wishes clearly known.
If one of them has asked for a specific item/heirloom, we have noted it for ALL to know TODAY. Just some thoughts!
Dick

I am POA for finance and health for my LO. We had an attorney help us through all the paper work and such. In my opinion it's the best way to go. Worth the money to know everything is done right.

Mary, I just read your post again an realized that the rules changed. Your husband no longer had to fight n a war to get the benefits. Check with your veteran advisor