What does an attorney for personal care do?

When someone wants choose who will make decisions about their personal care if they become mentally incapable, they can use a legal document called a . This is sometimes called a “personal power of attorney”.

The person who creates the Power of Attorney is called the grantor. The person they choose is called their attorney for personal care or substitute-decision maker (SDM).

Being an attorney is an important job. It comes with a lot of responsibility and it can last a long time.

What are personal care decisions

A Power of Attorney for Personal Care gives you the power to make personal care decisions when the person becomes mentally incapable. This includes:

  • decisions about the person's personal care, such as where they live, what they eat, what they wear, washing and having a bath, and staying safe
  • decisions about the person's health care that deal with:
    • health-care treatments
    • moving into a long-term care home
    • getting personal care services in long-term care homes

A Power of Attorney for Personal Care does not let you deal with or make any decisions about the person's money or property. If they want you to make those kinds of decisions, they can name you as their attorney for property in a Power of Attorney for Property.

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