The Difference Between A Medical And Financial Power Of Attorney

Choosing people to hold medical and financial powers of attorney can be a good way to make sure that person’s wishes are carried out.  One question that people might deal with is whether or not it is a good idea for the same person to hold both the medical and financial power of attorney.  The financial power of attorney designates someone to oversee financial affairs while the medical power of attorney deals with health care related decisions.  The law treats these two types of advanced directives documents separately because they deal with different areas.  It might be tempting to choose the same person to take care of making decisions for both financial and health care matters, but it might be a good idea to divide up responsibilities. 

See Hanna Rubin, Medical vs. Financial Power of Attorney: Reasons to Separate Them, Investopedia, April 23, 2016.