The POA Checklist Every New Caregiver Should Run Through

There are several flavors of POA, and they grant very different powers. Read the document end to end before you act on it.

• Durable financial POA — survives incapacity. The most common type. Powers usually include banking, real estate, taxes, government benefits, and contracts. Each power may be granted separately.
• Healthcare POA — only kicks in when a physician documents incapacity. Covers medical decisions only.
• Limited POA — narrow, single-purpose (e.g., to sell one specific property).
• Springing POA — only takes effect upon a triggering event, usually incapacity. Slower to activate because the trigger has to be proven.

Most banks, brokerages, and government agencies require either a wet-ink original or a certified copy. Get five certified copies from the notary or attorney who prepared the document. Keep one original in a fireproof but accessible location at home, one with the principal's primary care physician, one with the principal's attorney if any, and one in an encrypted digital vault.

GuardianStep's vault stores POAs with version history and grants emergency access via QR code on a wallet card — useful for ER situations.

Don't wait for a crisis to introduce yourself. Get on file at every institution your loved one uses, in writing, with a copy of the POA on record.

• Every bank and brokerage where they hold accounts — submit POA, request acknowledgment letter.
• Social Security Administration — note that SSA does not honor POAs; you must apply separately to be a Representative Payee.
• Medicare and any Medicare Advantage plan — POA + HIPAA authorization both required.
• Primary care physician and any specialists they see regularly.
• Insurance carriers (auto, home, life, long-term care).
• Utility companies if you'll be paying their bills directly.

If your authority is ever challenged — by a sibling, a state Adult Protective Services investigation, or eventually a probate court — your first line of defense is contemporaneous records. Don't reconstruct them later. Build them as you go.

• Keep every receipt for any expense paid from the principal's funds, with a written note explaining the purpose.
• Reconcile their bank accounts monthly and save the statements in dated folders.
• Log every significant decision (medical consent, sale of property, large gift) with date, rationale, and who you consulted.
• Never commingle funds — no joint accounts, no "I'll pay myself back later." Use a separate bank account if needed.
• If you take any compensation as agent (allowed in most states if the document permits it), document the hours and the rate.

As an agent under a POA, you owe the principal a fiduciary duty — the highest standard of care the law recognizes. Practically, this means:

• Act in the principal's best interest, not yours and not the family's.
• Avoid self-dealing — don't loan yourself their money, don't sell yourself their property, don't put your name on their accounts as a co-owner unless the POA explicitly authorizes it.
• Follow the principal's known wishes wherever possible.
• Keep a separate paper trail (see above).
• Consult an attorney or accountant on any decision that feels close to the line. The cost of an hour of their time is trivial compared to a contested probate fight.