Submitted by Richard Hetzler
A Medical Power of Attorney gives one individual the ability to make medical decisions for another person when they become unable to do so. This is an extremely important document to have as a parent ages, since her ability to make decisions for herself about complex medical matters may change quickly.
When my mother moved from Dallas to Chicago she had both a Living Will and a Medical Power of Attorney, issued in Texas. These documents must be in the format of the state in which the parent lives to be accepted. My attorney advised that I should not have both documents, due to the possibility they would conflict. A Living Will can be interpreted by any family member, and they will rarely agree to a single decision. In Illinois the Medical Power of Attorney has a section similar to the Living Will, and it assigns the decision to one person.
In the case of my mother, she was mentally competent prior to being sent to the hospital one Sunday morning. But due to her visual limitations, she would not sign documents without one of her sons present. Since I had the Medical Power of Attorney, it was possible for me to admit her to the rehab facility following her hospital stay. It was also possible for me to begin hospice care when it became practical.
I have heard many horror stories from people who delayed too long obtaining this document. The best advice is to find out how your parent’s state of residence treats this document and to talk about it with your parent before it actually needed.
