The key differences between durable vs. medical power of attorney involve the scope of the attorney’s power and its effectiveness in case of a principal's incapacitation.
Specifically, the former includes a broader scope of an attorney’s power (financial and personal matters) and is effective regardless of the principal's capacity status. The latter implies a narrower scope of power (only medical matters) and is effective only if the principal is incapacitated.
In this article, we will discuss the details of these power of attorney types and when, how, and why to choose either or both.
What is a Durable Power of Attorney?
A durable power of attorney is one of the legal documents that authorize someone to act on your behalf. The purpose of such a document is to plan for health decline (whether physical or mental) and have someone represent you in legal, financial, and personal matters when you no longer have the capacity to make decisions.
Senior citizens or others anticipating a decline in health often opt to use this official document. For instance, you can create a Last Will and Testament and pair it with a durable POA. However, individuals may sign it for their own personal reasons.
The scope of a durable POA is pretty considerable, as it allows appointed individuals to take care of various personal and financial affairs on your behalf, such as:
Filing taxes
Signing up for government benefits
Controlling investments, bills, and bank accounts
Buying and selling property and other possessions
A durable POA is effective regardless of whether you are incapacitated or not. In other words, the assigned individual can make decisions on your behalf even if you are perfectly healthy and fully capable of making your own, as long as you consent.
In cases of abuse of power, you can revoke an individual’s authority. Lawyers specializing in estate planning or elder law typically handle such matters.
What is a Medical Power of Attorney?
A medical power of attorney is a legal document by which you can grant another individual the right to make medical decisions if you are incapable.
The key aspect of a durable vs. medical power of attorney comparison is that a durable POA relates to future endeavors regarding finances and other personal matters. On the other hand, a medical POA is strictly tied to decisions made for your medical conditions.
One of the differences between durable and medical power of attorney is that the latter allows your agent to state medical preferences you made earlier. This includes decisions about treatments you should or shouldn’t take, as well as accepting or refusing medical procedures.
While this document is particularly helpful for elderly individuals, any adult citizen can generate and use it. For quick, error-free, and automated durable and medical POA document preparation, you can try the POA generator.
Moreover, this official document is effective only if the principal becomes incapacitated, but never before. If any complications arise, you can complete a power of attorney revocation form and remove or change your representative.
Durable vs. Medical Power of Attorney
| A Durable POA | A Medical POA |
Scope: | Financial and other personal matters | Medical treatments and procedures |
Effectiveness: | Upon agreement or after the principal’s incapacitation | In case of the principal’s incapacity |
Ends: | If revoked, if the contract expires, or upon the principal’s death | If revoked, if the contract expires, or upon the principal’s death |
Although both documents are part of a healthcare proxy, there are key distinctions between a durable and medical power of attorney—namely, the scope of authority and legal implications and limitations. These differences also influence the potential for abuse and the options for revocation.
Let us now examine them point by point.
#1. Scope of Authority
The scope of authority for a durable POA is broader than a medical POA. You can use the former document to assign a person to make various personal and financial decisions for you. These include, but are not limited to, paying taxes, managing your bills and bank accounts, making sales or purchase agreements, etc.
On the other hand, a health care power of attorney obliges the agent to make decisions that directly correspond to the principal’s health.
For example, an individual in power can allow doctors to perform surgery on the principal. Still, the same individual won’t be able to, let’s say, file taxes or buy property instead of the principal.
#2. Legal Implications and Limitations
If officially assigned by a durable POA, the agent has the right to represent the principal whether they are incapacitated or not. This means that agents don’t need further consent to manage your financial and other personal matters, but you still retain the ability to revoke the authority or override decisions unless incapacitated.
In contrast, a medical POA agent has no right to decide for a principal if they are not incapacitated. So, as long as a principal is healthy, a medical power of attorney is ineffective.
#3. Potential Abuses
Unfortunately, potential abuses can occur with healthcare proxies. This happens when an agent exceeds the limits stipulated in the legal document. While it’s difficult to determine which poses a greater risk in the durable vs. medical power of attorney comparison, a durable POA tends to offer more opportunities for misuse due to its broader scope.
This is because a durable POA often includes financial authority, which is a common target for misuse. A medical POA becomes effective once the principal becomes incapacitated, so abuse cannot arise before that. Plus, abuses related to healthcare are generally less common.
#4. The Possibility of Revocation
Both durable and medical POAs cease to be effective upon the principal's death. Yet, these two may not always be equally challenging to revoke. This can be true for durable power of attorney forms that brokerage firms and banks may require you to fill out.
Custom forms for medical POAs are less common than those for durable ones. Some states even bar your doctor or healthcare provider from being your agent. Even though revocation of a medical POA varies from case to case, it is generally easier to revoke than a durable POA.
Nevertheless, if the principal reaches high incapacity levels, it is almost impossible to revoke a medical POA.
Durable Power of Attorney Advantages & Disadvantages
There are many benefits to a durable power of attorney, including flexibility, avoiding court intervention, and having peace of mind. On the contrary, such a document can bring about potential abuse and difficulties in revocation if that becomes necessary.
Let’s dive deeper into the pros and cons.
DPA Advantages
A durable power of attorney brings flexibility as you choose who will be your agent without some restrictions that apply to a medical POA. Furthermore, if you assign an individual to take care of, let’s say, your property, you directly avoid court intervention.
Lastly, you won’t burden your family, as such documents enable them to take proper action when needed without going to court for permission.
DPA Disadvantages
Many documents of this type involve financial matters, sometimes subject to manipulation or abuse. For instance, appointing banks or brokerage firms as agents through their custom forms or an agent acting beyond their authority can create risks. A durable POA can also be tricky to revoke if associated with brokerage firms or banks.
Medical Power of Attorney Advantages & Disadvantages
MPA’s advantages include easy agent revocation, the ability to select a temporary representative, and the low rate of abuse cases. Nevertheless, if an individual chooses the wrong agent, they cannot replace them in severe incapacity cases.
Let’s analyze the benefits and downsides of MPA.
MPA Advantages
The positive side to a medical power of attorney is that you can quickly appoint a new agent if the previous one didn’t meet your standards. Additionally, you can choose a temporary representative for surgeries or similar procedures. Finally, since this official document turns effective after an individual becomes incapacitated, abuse cases automatically drop.
MPA Disadvantages
While revoking and replacing a current agent before any state of incapacity is easy, revoking an underperforming representative may not be so after incapacity. It is because a principal may enter a deep state of incapacity and can no longer choose for themselves.
When to Have Both Durable and Medical Power of Attorney
Most legal experts recommend having both a durable and medical power of attorney. In fact, the durable vs. medical power of attorney discussion doesn’t need to be an either/or debate—they complement each other.
If you only have a medical power of attorney, your medical agent can make treatment decisions if your health suddenly declines. However, without a durable POA, no one will have the authority to access your financial accounts or estate planning documents to pay your bills, potentially leaving you with serious debt issues once you recover.
On the other hand, having only a durable POA means your agent can manage your finances during a health crisis, but your relatives and the agent may face difficulties making informed decisions about your treatment without clear medical directives.
This is why having both durable and medical POAs is the best approach.
How to Choose Between a Durable and a Medical Power of Attorney
You can choose between a durable and a medical power of attorney based on your needs (financial and legal or medical affairs). There are two sides to the coin for both entities in the durable vs. medical power of attorney comparison to consider when choosing the right POA.
For instance, you are perfectly healthy but want your real estate property taken care of on time. In this case, you can opt for a durable POA and prepare other real estate planning documents not directly managed by a durable POA, like the Last Will and Testament, as well as the Living Will.
You can choose a medical POA over a durable POA if you are in a nursing home. In such situations, most of your finances are under control. A decline in health for elderly citizens is expected, so it is a good idea to appoint someone to decide on your behalf for medical procedures.
If you require helpful documents for your real estate planning, making purchases and sales, and other business and legal documents, Contracts.net tools can help you generate them. Tools are easy to use and access.
Final Thoughts
A durable vs. medical power of attorney distinction comes down to contrast in scope of authority and legal limitations. The former encompasses financial and personal matters and has a broader scope than the latter, which is solely for medical procedures.
A durable POA can showcase more abuses due to its financial matter and may be more difficult to revoke if banks or similar institutions are involved. Regardless, preparing both a durable and a medical POA is essential for preventing debts, improper medical treatments, or other formalities and expenses in court.
Our site has multiple tools for legal document generation that can assist you in your legal endeavors.
Durable vs. Medical Power of Attorney FAQ
Types of power of attorney are general, medical, durable, springing, limited, and financial power of attorney. The scope and limitations of POAs can sometimes overlap.
The court will assign a conservator if you don’t have a durable or medical power of attorney. Typically, courts appoint separate individuals to these roles to ensure effectiveness and avoid conflicts of interest.
No, it doesn’t. A durable POA covers financial and various personal matters but not medical procedures.
Yes, it does. Once a durable POA principal becomes deceased, its entire scope ends.
Yes, you can. It is important to choose your agent considerably, as not every individual is practical for different areas of life.
