Legal authority to help: power of attorney and health care directives

If Mom or Dad can’t handle their own bills or medical decisions someday, who is allowed to step in? These documents answer that ahead of time, while your parent can still choose. The basic ideas are the same across the U.S.; the signing rules and forms depend on your parent’s state.

Two different jobs, two different papers

A financial POA usually does not cover health care decisions. For example, the official financial POA forms in South Dakota, Minnesota, and Connecticut each say so directly, and Connecticut’s Uniform Power of Attorney Act states that it does not apply to a power to make health care decisions. Most families need both documents.

What “durable” means

A durable power of attorney keeps working even after your parent loses the ability to make decisions. That is usually the whole point. A power of attorney that isn’t durable can end at the very moment it’s needed most.

States handle this differently. In states that use the Uniform Power of Attorney Act, a POA is generally durable unless it says otherwise (for example, Connecticut Gen. Stat. 1-350c and Kentucky Rev. Stat. 457.040). Other states require durable wording in the document, such as Minnesota (Minn. Stat. 523.07). Ask an attorney in your parent’s state to confirm the document is durable.

Why do it before it’s needed

• Your parent must have capacity to sign. If dementia or a stroke has already taken away their ability to understand and decide, it may be too late to sign a valid document.
• The alternative is court. Without these papers, the family may need to ask a judge to appoint a guardian or conservator (see below). That takes time and money and is public.
• Your parent gets to choose who helps, and can say what they want.
• Banks and doctors move faster when there’s a valid document on file.

Why the rules look similar in many states

The Uniform Law Commission wrote a model law called the Uniform Power of Attorney Act. States can adopt it, change it, or keep their own system. Many state laws are titled “Uniform Power of Attorney Act,” including South Dakota (SDCL ch. 59-12), Kentucky (KRS ch. 457), Connecticut (ch. 15c), Virginia (Title 64.2, ch. 16), and Washington (RCW 11.125). Other states, such as Illinois, Minnesota, and Florida, have their own power of attorney laws.

We don’t list every state that has adopted the uniform act because we couldn’t confirm a complete, current list from an official source. Check your state’s own law using the links below.

Find your state’s rules and forms

Show all 50 states and D.C. in one list

Free legal help anywhere in the U.S.: the Legal Services Corporation can help you find civil legal aid, and the Eldercare Locator (1-800-677-1116) can connect you with local aging services.

Examples of how state rules differ

These examples show why it matters which state your parent is in. They are summaries, not the full rules.

• South Dakota: the financial POA must be signed and acknowledged before a notary (SDCL 59-12-4). A health care power of attorney is witnessed by two adults or a notary (SDCL 59-7-2.1). If there is no health care agent, SDCL 34-12C-3 lists, in order, family members who may decide.
• Minnesota: the statutory short form must be copied exactly and notarized (Minn. Stat. 523.23). Health care uses a separate health care directive, verified by a notary or witnesses; the named health care agent can’t be a witness or the notary (Minn. Stat. 145C.03).
• Connecticut: a POA must be dated, signed, and witnessed by two witnesses; a signature acknowledged before a notary or other authorized official is presumed genuine (Conn. Gen. Stat. 1-350d).

If your parent moves: many states honor a POA that was valid where it was signed. For example, Connecticut (1-350e) and Illinois (755 ILCS 45/2-10.6) both say so. Still, ask an attorney in the new state whether new documents make sense.

What happens without them: guardianship and conservatorship

If your parent can no longer decide and there’s no valid POA or health care document, a family member may need to ask a court to appoint someone. Many states use these terms:

• a guardian, for personal decisions like where to live and medical care, and/or
• a conservator, for money and property.

Names and steps vary by state. Connecticut, for example, uses “conservator of the person” and “conservator of the estate” (Conn. Gen. Stat. 1-350g). In South Dakota, the process includes a petition, a medical evaluation report, notice to your parent, and a hearing, and guardians and conservators generally file yearly reports or accountings with the court (SDCL ch. 29A-5). Your state’s court self-help pages, linked above where available, explain the local process.

Tip: some states let your parent nominate in the POA who they’d want as guardian or conservator if one is ever needed, for example South Dakota (SDCL 59-12-7) and Connecticut (1-350g).

Step-by-step checklist

1. Have the conversation. Ask: “If you couldn’t handle your bills or talk to your doctor, who would you want to help?”
2. Find out what already exists. Old POAs, a will, a trust, or a health care form from a hospital stay. Note the date and state where each was signed.
3. Pick the people: a main agent and a backup (successor) for money, and the same for health care. They can be the same person or different people.
4. Look up your parent’s state in the state list above so you know the basic rules and forms.
5. Meet with an elder-law attorney in the state where your parent lives. Your parent should speak for themselves in that meeting. If cost is a concern, check free legal aid through the Legal Services Corporation.
6. Sign correctly, following that state’s notary and witness rules for each document.
7. Make copies. Give the health care document to their doctors and the hospital they use. Ask their bank whether it needs a copy on file.
8. Store the originals safely and write down where they are. Put a copy in the paperwork binder.
9. Review every few years or after big changes: a death, divorce, a move to another state, or a new diagnosis.

What to ask an elder-law attorney

• Should my parent’s financial POA start right away, or only if they become incapacitated? What are the pros and cons for us?
• Who decides that my parent is “incapacitated,” and how is that proven to a bank?
• Is this POA durable under our state’s law?
• Should we name co-agents or one agent with a backup?
• Should the POA allow gifts, trust changes, or beneficiary changes? Could that matter for Medicaid planning later?
• Will this document work if my parent moves to another state, or owns property in another state?
• Do my parent’s old documents still work, or should they be replaced?
• Can the health care document include their wishes about life support, feeding tubes, and comfort care?
• What would guardianship or conservatorship cost and involve here if we don’t do this?
• What is your fee, and is it flat or hourly?

Sources

Last checked Oct 18, 2026.

1. Uniform Law Commission: Power of Attorney Act: https://www.uniformlaws.org/committees/community-home?CommunityKey=b1975254-8370-4a7c-947f-e5af0d6cb07c
2. Connecticut Gen. Stat. ch. 15c, Uniform Power of Attorney Act (1-350b, 1-350c, 1-350d, 1-350e, 1-350g, 1-352): https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_015c.htm
3. Kentucky Rev. Stat. ch. 457, Uniform Power of Attorney Act (incl. 457.040): https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/chapter.aspx?id=47170
4. Illinois Power of Attorney Act, 755 ILCS 45 (incl. 2-10.6): https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ILCS/details?ActID=2113&ActName=Illinois+Power+of+Attorney+Act.&ChapAct=755+ILCS+45%2F&Chapter=ESTATES&ChapterID=60++&MajorTopic=RIGHTS+AND+REMEDIES&SeqEnd=1900000&SeqStart=300000
5. South Dakota Codified Laws ch. 59-12, Uniform Power of Attorney Act (incl. 59-12-4, -7): https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/59-12
6. SDCL 59-7-2.1: Durable power of attorney for health care: https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/59-7-2.1
7. SDCL 34-12C-3: Health care decisions when there is no agent or guardian: https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/34-12C-3
8. SDCL ch. 29A-5: South Dakota Guardianship and Conservatorship Act: https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/29A-5
9. Minn. Stat. 523.07: Durable power of attorney: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/523.07
10. Minn. Stat. 523.23: Statutory short form power of attorney: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/523.23
11. Minn. Stat. 145C.03: Health care directive requirements: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/145C.03
12. Virginia Code Title 64.2, ch. 16: Uniform Power of Attorney Act: https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacodefull/title64.2/chapter16/
13. RCW 11.125: Washington Uniform Power of Attorney Act: https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=11.125
14. Florida Statutes ch. 709: Powers of attorney: https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/Chapter709
15. Legal Services Corporation: Get legal help: https://www.lsc.gov/about-lsc/what-legal-aid/get-legal-help
16. Eldercare Locator (U.S. Administration for Community Living): https://eldercare.acl.gov/
17. State-by-state links: see the state list above (stored in data/states.js): data/states.js

Rules and numbers change. If something here does not match what an agency tells you, trust the agency, and please let us know.