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I live in California and so did my Aunt. I am her DPOA and Medical POA, but the family decided to send her to Indiana for memory care because she has more family there. I want to share Medical POA with my sister who lives near my aunt and cares for my mom, but our Estate Attorneys both said they cannot do it because they're only licensed in their own state. I've searched and cannot find an attorney with reciprocity in the two states. How can I find that?

If your aunt can understand what she is signing and express a preference for who will make decisions for her, she may still be able to do a medical POA.

The lawyer will need to meet with her in person to see if she is competent enough to sign. So an Indiana lawyer would be the way to go.

I wouldn’t worry about a medical POA lawyer for a state she isn’t expected to reside in or visit.

If it is too late for a new medical POA, make the current one work as well as it can. Your sister won’t be able to sign any paperwork, but you can agree between yourselves that she has authority short of signing off on anything. Ask the memory care or the lawyer about how to formally delegate the day to day stuff (like you would to a geriatric care manager) and be prepared to have quick turnaround on electronically transmitted paperwork that needs to be printed and signed and transmitted back.
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Reply to Frebrowser
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If you are both named as MPOA on the document, depending on how it is worded you might not have to do anything.

Can you act independently or must it be a mutual/shared decision?
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Reply to Isthisrealyreal
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I am sorry you didn't mention Aunt's dementia.
No matter what state your aunt is in it is now too late to appoint a NEW or ANOTHER POA in any way. The principal is the only one who can add, adjust, subtract POAs. And only while he/she is completely competent.

You will have to continue to act as long distant POA. Sorry. Cousin COULD apply to be guardian. THat would override any POA. However, I wouldn't suggest that. If a guardian wishes to quit they can only do so through a judge allowing it. That's a court action and most judges will not allow it without good reasons such as terminal illness on the part of the guardian. The paperwork and costs are onerous.
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Reply to AlvaDeer
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Oh there will be an attorney with licensing in CA and IN. But it’ll be a white shoe type of $$$$ law firm that represents something like the NFL or NBA as both States have pro teams, or a firm that represents Eli Lily or Mead Johnson as their HQ is in IN but have legal presence in CA. All would be law firms with a comma in their hourly rate.

Realistically imho it’s not feasible unless it’s an adjacent State. Please take AlvaDeer’s excellent suggestion and resign POA to the IN sister. If the existing will was done in CA, if at all feasible, have the aunt do a codicil to it drawn up by an IN attorney. Dealing with an out of state (foreign) will stuff just makes things way more difficult.
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Reply to igloo572
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To be honest I would just give up your MPOA. It is a simple letter to the principal (Aunt) to resign. She then appoints sister.
It is a very bad idea to have two serving as POA.
What happens when/if you two disagree. Very bad practice.
Sister now lives where Aunt does.

Now if Aunt has dementia then it is already too late to give up MPOA. And there is utterly no reason you cannot act as MPOA. If a decision is needed the MD will have access to your phone number and call you if Aunt is unable to act in her own behalf.

You are correct that Sister and Aunt would do the new MPOA with an attorney in their own state.
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Reply to AlvaDeer
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sljcvp Oct 9, 2024
Aunt has dementia. I should have said that in the first place. So is there any way that I can reassign MPOA? Instead of sharing? And would my Aunt's attorney in California do that or my sister and mom's attorney in Indiana do that (if it's possible).
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