Typically, people appoint family members and friends to serve as their agents under health care proxies or health care powers of attorney and the people appointed do not charge for their services. This is also true of agents for financial and legal matters under durable powers of attorney. However, sometimes clients appoint professionals, such as attorneys and accountants, to serve under durable powers of attorney, in which case they do charge for their time. Such professionals are usually reluctant to take on duties as personal and potentially time consuming as serving as health care agent, so there isn’t a tradition of paying for these services. The result is that it’s really between you and your neighbor. You might agree on an hourly rate or even something that seems less like employment, such as offering to make a donation to your neighbor’s favorite charity or house of worship.

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