When you are faced with a sudden situation such as the illness of a loved one, in order to make any medical or financial decisions, you will need to have a power of attorney or representation agreement in place. A power of attorney gives the power to take care of financial and legal matters. A representation agreement can be set up to handle personal and health care matters for your loved one if they have become incapable of making decisions on their own. The time to get these set up is before they are needed. Talk to your local notary.