Dad has Alzheimer's and we have POA. We have been advised that unless my father agrees to go into care we cannot make the decision for him even though we have full POA for health and finance. We were told we would need to apply for guardianship. My father is at the stage where he is unable to retain any new information and has no awareness of how ill he is. Please can you advise on this
You are in a better position to know whether or not several months of process, thousands of $$$, and the internal familiy strife would be worth it. If there are other alternatives to being able to help, like the link Panapal posted, you might want to try that route first.
In my mind, the same way that a child's place is in school, when an elder needs supervision, one of the best options is out of home care.
What if you explored that and also tried to entice him to go for some kind of therapy, rehab, etc. at an Assisted Living facility? I used creative ways myself to entice my cousin to enter one. She was against it at first, but as I explained the things she would be doing and how it would help her, she became more open. After she got there, she took a downward turn, so it's a good thing she was there. I signed her in under her POA. You can read some of the ways family members encourage and support those who are in dire need of assistance due to dementia on these boards. Good luck.