"Granting someone Power of Attorney is different than legal guardianship. You get to decide how much decision power the agent actually has." -Autistic Self Advocacy Network

What is the best type of Power of Attorney (POA) for people with disabilities?
The General Durable Power of Attorney would be a designated person the authority to manage personal matters, financial decisions and most importantly, medical decisions that would be hard for the person with disabilities to fully understand and make an informed decision about their care. The Principal is the person who is granting the authority to the Agent to act on their behalf.

The word "durable" means that the POA will make decisions for someone who is unable to until the person revokes it or passes away. The word "general" refers to the ability to make a broad spectrum of decisions. This type of POA may lessen the possibility of long term abuse of responsibilities like the person can close accounts or sell a house the Principal is living in for their own benefit. Scroll down this page to view a quick video about how to identify potential abuse of POA.

What is a Springing or Contingent Powers of Attorney?
This type of POA is specific to a designated date, a future even or for an anticipated specific condition. It doesn't go into effect immediately but spring into action if the person is deemed incompetent and unable to make their own decisions. Please refer to the above video to learn more.

What is the difference between Power of Attorney and Guardianship?
You can take away the Power of Attorney at any time but only the courts can take away a Guardianship which costs money and effort to convince a judge to do so.

What types of decisions can be made financially?
Basically managing the person's finances from paying bills, depositing checks, represent them when talking with insurance companies and managing taxes on behalf of the person involved.

What types of medical decisions can be made as a Durable General POA?
They will have the ability to speak with the medical team about updates and make different types of medical decisions including agreeing or withholding medical treatments. You can speak to your attorney about more specifics.

How much does it cost?
In Pennsylvania, it can cost anywhere between $200 to $500. It's not a good idea to create one through "do it yourself" legal websites to save money.

For more information on what to expect in the process, click here.

Click here for a list of local attorneys who can help you set it up.