Q: Which power of attorney for uncle in nursing home in MD?

A: Generally there are two types of Powers of Attorney in Maryland: Health Care and Financial. They each appoint an agent, the health care agent to manage health care and the financial agent to manage financial and related affairs. Most people should have both. These are generally NOT combined in a "dual" document, instead they are two separate documents each giving a separate type of authority.

You may have been thinking of a "durable" Power of Attorney which can be a General Durable Power of Attorney - the "Durable" simply means that if the Planner ever becomes incapacitated, the Power of Attorney continues. Maryland law allows a limited Power of Attorney (for example, one can designate someone with authority only to handle real estate, or can give general authority but limit it to a 6 month time period, so forth and so on), however most of the time general authority is more appropriate.

Naturally the planner themselves (here, your uncle) is the one who needs to decide what he wants, ideally in consultation with his attorney. A word of caution -- someone "unable to make most decisions independently" may lack the requisite capacity to even create an Power of Attorney at all. There is a time for planning, and a time when it is too late and other options (such as guardianship) might need to be explored.

While not legal advice, I hope this general information helps.

A: Your uncle must be mentally competent and capable of comprehending the import of the document he is signing; otherwise, the only option is a petition for legal guardianship filed in court. If he is mentally competent to sign a power of attorney, he should sign two POAs: (1) a Maryland Statutory Power of Attorney (which is a durable POA); and (2) a healthcare POA. A lawyer should be used to draft both and oversee the signing. You will need a notary public, and there are restrictions regarding who can act as a witness on the healthcare POA (e.g., his healthcare providers, doctors, nurses and their employees cannot be the only witnesses). Many lawyers can arrange to conduct the signing where your uncle is located if he cannot travel. Failure to use the proper language or follow signing/witness requirements may result in third parties refusing to honor the POAs.