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Mlmedellin1960 Asked July 2017

My brother wants me to share the medical portion of the POA but my mom cannot make a decision, can I?

I am the primary agent in my mother's POA, and my sister is secondary. My brother wants me to share the medical portion of the POA. My mom has dementia and in my opinion cannot make a decision, can I make this decision for her? It's durable POA. Thank you for any assistance.

jeannegibbs Jul 2017
You can always consult him and ask for his input. But only Mother can officially name him healthcare poa. In general I think it is bad to have more than one person primary poa -- If you disagree about a particular decision, which person has the final say?

BarbBrooklyn Jul 2017
Can she still express her desires? Does she understand the concept of delegating responsibility to you both? Is there a reason mom did not include him in the first place on aNY of these documents? Do you generally agree about her medical issues?

You might ask her doctor if s/he thinks mom is competent enough to assign a new joint medical poa.

My brothers and I have joint medical poa, and while we generally agree, I most often end up deferring to my brother who is mom's sole durable poa, since he and my SIL do most of the visiting and heavy lifting.

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Mlmedellin1960 Jul 2017
Because he wants to be involved in her healthcare decisions since he takes my mother and me to her Dr visits.

BarbBrooklyn Jul 2017
My understanding of POA is that it can only be granted by the person themselves.

Why does your brother want to share Medical POA with you?

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