Authentic Life Care Services provides comprehensive services for individuals with temporary, future or permanent needs for support with daily money management, healthcare decisions, and lifestyle logistics.

In preparing your Estate Plan with the help of a qualified attorney, you are certain to designate an Executor or Personal Representative to fulfill your wishes for your Estate after your passing.

But did you know you may also choose to designate certain powers to act on your behalf during your lifetime?

Using a Power of Attorney (POA), you may control which powers you designate, and empower an individual (referred to as your Agent, Attorney-in-Fact, or Personal Representative) to act on your behalf (whether or not you are incapacitated). This allows you to get help with daily needs (which could include administrative, legal, medical, and financial management topics) without giving up your personal control and direction of that help. And it prepares you for getting qualified, knowledgeable and caring support, from someone who knows your needs and preferences, when and if you should become incapacitated by a temporary or permanent situation.

Authentic Life Care Services’ Managing Director, Kathryn Burke-Howe, has served as an Agent under POA for multiple clients since 2021. She accepts appointments as Agent by clients preparing one or more types of Powers of Attorney, such as:

• • Durable POA for Health Care: Appoints a Health Care agent, an individual authorized to make health care related decisions on your behalf should you become unable to do so yourself (and/or to support you in decision-making prior to your incapacity if you elect).
  • Health Care Directive: In addition to appointing a Health Care Agent, a Health Care Directive (a.k.a. a “Living Will”) is an important tool to help you clarify and communicate your preferences, especially in end-of-life situations. They help ensure that your own definition of “quality of life” – as defined by your authentic self – is being taken into account in any medical decision-making done on your behalf.
  • General Durable POA: Appoints an Agent, an individual authorized to make decisions on your behalf should you be unable to do so yourself, or in your absence, related to contracts and your personal property, potentially including real estate, financial accounts, government and insurance benefits, electronic accounts, digital files, etc.

  Under Pennsylvania law, the designated Agent in any Power of Attorney must be informed of and consent to their appointment. When we engage with clients who wish to name us as Agent, our work together begins prior to execution of the POA, allowing time to collaborate with the client to clearly understand and appropriately document their priorities, preferences, and intentions for the Agent, as well as to clarify and document agreement regarding fees for service as Agent.

According to the Pennsylvania Advisory Council on Elder Justice in the Courts, “When an adult of any age is deemed incapacitated by a court, a professional or family guardian may be appointed who is responsible for making certain decisions on their behalf. The nature of these decisions can include financial, medical and personal matters the incapacitated person has been determined unable to make for themself.”

A guardianship court order (decree) allows a designated individual, individuals, or entity to act on another person’s behalf when they are determined by a court to be incapacitated.

Guardianship is more complicated and expensive than a Power of Attorney, is a scenario of last resort, and is necessary only when less-restrictive alternatives (such as a POA and/or Payee arrangement) fail to effectively meet a person’s needs. If previous POA arrangements have been executed but are no longer sufficient, a Guardianship decree voids those arrangements. However, a person’s intentions as expressed in a POA executed prior to their incapacity must be considered by any Guardian appointed by the court.

Courts typically prefer to assign family members as Guardian unless there is no qualified relative willing to serve, but your preferences expressed in a previously-executed POA will be considered by the Court. Guardianship by a professional like our Managing Director, Kathryn Burke-Howe, NCG, may come into play when an incapacitated person has no qualified local family or other local relationships of significant support, and/or has been subjected to some prior threat to their safety and/or financial exploitation.

Kathryn Burke-Howe is a member of the National Guardianship Association (NGA), is a National Certified Guardian, and adheres to the Ethical Principles and Standards of Practice adopted by the NGA and required in Pennsylvania of all professional guardians of three or more incapacitated persons.