Who Should You Appoint as Attorney for Personal Care?

An attorney for personal care is a person you appoint in a Power of Attorney document (POA), to make personal care decisions for you if you ever lack capacity to make those decisions yourself.

An attorney for personal care is not usually a lawyer. In the POA context, an attorney is a person given legal authority.

Your attorney for personal care will often be a spouse, family member, friend, or trusted professional of your choosing. You can have more than one attorney for personal care.

You should choose the right person(s) for the role. This decision should not be made lightly.

Responsibilities of Attorneys for Personal Care:

Before choosing the oldest child, or the female child, or the newest spouse (these are often whom people choose without giving the matter much thought), consider the following:

The decisions your attorney for personal care will make include decisions about your health care, nutrition, housing, safety, hygiene, and more. It can be hard to imagine what this encompasses, but it could include:

• whether you will continue to live in your own home or move to a nursing home,
• whether you should receive private nursing or nursing aid care,
• whether you participate in the community including attending social, recreational or religious activities
• how often you go to the doctor and dentist
• who your doctor and dentist are
• how often you receive nail care and hair care
• whether you need your diapers or bandages changed once daily or 4 times a day

the list goes on.

The person you choose to act as attorney for personal care should respect you and your wishes.

If you have strong preferences or beliefs, appoint someone you trust will respect and carry out your wishes.

For example, if you have strong preferences either to continue to live in your own home or to move to a nursing home, or if you have strong preferences about whether to receive or refuse consent to certain medical procedures, or whether to be kept alive by artificial means like life support or to be allowed to die, appoint someone who will carry out your wishes.

If you are a devout believer of one religious faith, do not appoint a friend or relative who will make decisions for you that would be contrary to your faith.

If you are adamant that you be allowed to remain in your own home, even if that puts you at risk of a fall and serious injury, don’t appoint someone who will put you in a nursing home at the first opportunity.

The Power of Attorney (POA) for personal care is a very powerful document. You are essentially naming the person who will act as your decision maker and determine your fate, once you can no longer make decisions yourself. Choose cautiously.

See Also: 7 Factors to Consider When Choosing Your Power of Attorney