Roughly 5.8 million people in the United States have Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. What if you or your spouse could no longer able to make your own healthcare decisions? What if you could no longer manage your finances? Do spouses automatically have power of attorney in that case?

Let’s imagine that your spouse is not able to make their own healthcare or financial decisions. Did your spouse sign Power of Attorney documents? If so, and if you are the named agent in your spouse’s POA, then you can make decisions for your spouse.