Obviously, if there is no spouse and the children cannot agree what is done to the parent, it may be that it is highly unlikely that a decision would be made not to provide treatment even though the patient would likely not have wanted the treatment in the first place. Powers Of Attorney Vs. Representation Agreements I am normally not recommending a representation agreement for financial affairs, as they are quite a bit more complicated than most people require. A representation agreement is a good idea if the grantor wishes a number of alternate representatives, wishes there to be a monitor appointed to oversee the decisions of the representatives, wishes the appointment of the representative to be conditional upon mental infirmity or wishes only certain powers to be granted to the representative. In most husband and wife situations, there is a great deal of trust and a representation agreement is not required for financial decisions.
Powers of attorney are usually less expensive to prepare.
Representatives Appointed By People Of Diminished Mental Capacity. Someone with diminished mental capacity cannot appoint a representative to look after all their health care and financial affairs. To do this one requires an enhanced form of representation agreement which also requires also requires legal advice to be given to the grantor of the representation agreement by a lawyer. For example, an enhanced representation agreement would allow the representative to sell real estate but limited powers can be granted by a person of diminished capacity. Routine management of an adult's financial affairs such as banking and paying bills and making routine health care decisions would be covered by a standard agreement.