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Medical Power Of Attorney Vs Durable Power Of Attorney

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Location: Iowa.

My mother (65) has early dementia. She is currently in a nursing home. I am her youngest daughter (31). She made me her medical power of attorney in 2019, when she was still active and capable of making her own decisions. I didn’t really see signs of significant cognitive decline at that point, she asked me to sign the paperwork basically just in case she got into an accident or something else happened where she wouldn’t be able to communicate her wishes. I did not expect such a quick cognitive decline.
She is currently in a nursing home, ‘temporarily’, but I know it’s going to be permanent as she can no longer take her of herself. She has had neuro tests, and doctors have made it official that she cannot make medical decisions for herself alone, so I am her acting POA for everything medical related.

Right now, we are trying to sell her car which she is no longer allowed to drive per her doctors. We cannot find the title. We have told her we are going to sell it (and I’m keeping the money as a fund for any extra stuff she needs, it’s not for my profit) and she has sometimes said it’s okay, but then due to the dementia sometimes she’s still essentially asking for her keys.

My question is, do I need to also seek being made her legal/durable(?) POA? And what does that entail?

Everything is hard in this situation because sometimes she’s ‘good’ and seemingly cognizant, but more often than not, she’s not. If we ask her to do paperwork of any kind when she’s cognizant, she is in denial and refuses to acknowledge and/or accept the dementia.
I really don’t want to involve her in any kind of proceedings because it understandably makes her agitated.

Any advice is appreciated, thank you in advance.

submitted by /u/mvkvylee
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