In the hospital tomorrow: who pays bills and checks your house?

Picture a hip replacement that turns into three weeks of rehab, or a bad fall that keeps you in the hospital for a month. The doctors handle your care. But at home, the mortgage is due, the electric bill arrives, the mail piles up and the dog needs her walk at four.

So what happens if you are incapacitated for a while, and who can legally keep your life running until you're home? This page answers the practical side, using Washington law as the example. It's part of our guide to who decides for you when you can't.

Who can legally pay my bills if I'm in the hospital?

Here's the part most people don't expect: there's no family list for money. A hospital can turn to your brother for consent to surgery. Nothing gives him the right to log into your bank account, call your mortgage company or write a check from your account.

The people who can legally handle your money while you're alive are:

• An agent under a financial power of attorney that you signed ahead of time.
• The trustee of your revocable trust, for whatever the trust owns.
• A court-appointed conservator, if nobody else has authority.
• A joint owner of an account, for that one account.
• A representative payee, for Social Security only.

Each works differently, and some come with strings attached.

A financial power of attorney

This is the main tool. A financial power of attorney lets the agent you name pay bills, deal with the bank and handle the house for you.

In Washington, two details matter. The document needs wording that keeps it working if you become incapacitated, because otherwise it ends exactly then (RCW 11.125.040). And a bank shown a notarized power of attorney must accept it, or ask for a certification, within seven business days (RCW 11.125.200).

A revocable trust

If your house or accounts are held in a revocable trust, a successor trustee can manage them when you can't. The trust document sets out when that happens. It only reaches what's actually in the trust, so most people pair it with a power of attorney.

A joint account

Adding someone to a bank account gives them access, which can help in a pinch. But they become a co-owner, not an agent.

A joint account with survivorship rights also passes to them when you die, outside your will (RCW 11.02.005). That may not be what you intended.

Social Security is separate

A power of attorney doesn't cover Social Security or VA benefits. The agency has to appoint a representative payee or VA fiduciary separately, as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau explains in its guide for agents (CFPB).

What happens if nobody has authority?

Bills go unpaid, or a well-meaning friend pays them from her own pocket. If the problem lasts, the usual fix is court.

In Washington, a judge can appoint a conservator only after notice and a hearing. There must be clear and convincing evidence that you can't manage your affairs even with support (RCW 11.130.360). The court also has to find that nothing less restrictive would work.

That protects you, but it isn't fast. By the time it's done, you may well be home again.

Who can check on my house?

Anyone you trust with a key can check on the house. Picking up mail, watering the plants and making sure the heat is on doesn't need legal authority.

The trouble starts when money or contracts come in. A burst pipe needs a plumber, and the plumber needs paying.

The furnace company wants the account holder. Your neighbor can let them in, but she can't sign for the work or pay from your account unless she's your agent.

And the dog?

Pets are often the most urgent piece. Write down who has a key, who'll take the dog, and her routine, food and vet. Our page on a care plan for your pets covers it step by step.

The medical side, briefly

Medical decisions follow a separate path. In Washington, if you can't consent, doctors follow a ranked list of relatives in RCW 7.70.065 unless you've named a health care agent.

The hospital can also share relevant information with family or a close friend involved in your care. If you can't agree yourself, staff use professional judgment (45 CFR 164.510).

Being told what's happening isn't the same as having authority. Our page on medical decisions without a power of attorney explains the full list.

Who can do what: a quick table

A typical case

Here is a typical case, a composite. Barbara is 70, divorced, and lives with her terrier, Max. Her daughter lives in Boston with two small children.

Barbara breaks her hip and spends a month in the hospital and rehab. Her neighbor Sue walks Max and brings in the mail. But the property tax payment is due, and the furnace quits in week two.

Sue can't pay from Barbara's account, and the bank won't talk to her. With a durable financial power of attorney naming Sue or a professional, the tax gets paid and the furnace gets fixed. Barbara comes home to a warm house.

A checklist to do this month

• Sign a durable financial power of attorney, and name a backup agent.
• Sign a medical power of attorney.
• Give a trusted neighbor a key, and write down who to call.
• Set up automatic payments for the essentials, so a short stay doesn't cause trouble.
• Keep a one-page list of accounts, bills and due dates where your agent can find it.
• Write down the pet routine: food, walks, vet, medication.
• Carry an in case of emergency card so the hospital calls the right person first.

Our page on who checks on you, who decides and who pays adds the question of who notices if something's wrong in the first place.

When the people you'd ask can't drop everything

If your children live far away, or your friends are your own age, the practical jobs can be split. Someone local holds the key; someone with authority pays the bills. When your children live far away covers how families arrange that.

You can also name a professional as financial agent, first or as backup. With Kinly, for example, a team on call around the clock has your plan in front of them. Trella Trust Company can pay bills while you're in the hospital.

That work is charged by the hour, and you see the rates before anything starts. Our guide to choosing professional help compares the options.

Common questions

Can my sister pay my bills if I'm in the hospital?

Only from her own money, unless she has legal authority. Being a relative doesn't give her access to your accounts. A durable financial power of attorney naming her, signed ahead of time, lets her pay your bills from your accounts.

Is a joint bank account a good substitute for a power of attorney?

It can help with one account, but it's a blunt tool. The other person becomes a co-owner with the same access you have.

If the account has survivorship rights, it also passes to them at your death. A power of attorney gives authority without giving ownership.

What happens if I'm incapacitated and have no power of attorney?

Medical decisions follow your state's list of relatives. For money, nobody has automatic authority, so bills may go unpaid until a court appoints a conservator. In Washington that takes a petition, notice and a hearing.

Who handles my Social Security if I can't?

The Social Security Administration appoints a representative payee. A power of attorney doesn't give your agent authority over those benefits.

Can a daily money manager pay my bills?

A daily money manager can help with bill paying and paperwork. But unless you also give them legal authority, such as through a power of attorney, they can't act for you when you can't act yourself.

Sources

• RCW 11.125.040: Power of attorney, termination at incapacity unless durable
• RCW 11.125.200: Acknowledged power of attorney, acceptance
• RCW 11.02.005: Definitions, including nonprobate asset
• RCW 11.130.360: Basis for appointment of conservator
• RCW 7.70.065: Informed consent, persons authorized to provide for patients who do not have capacity
• 45 CFR 164.510: Uses and disclosures requiring an opportunity to agree or object (HIPAA)
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: Help for agents under a power of attorney