Ohhh boy, here we go...gotta have the TALK with the Folks

[Ocelot II]

2. You really should get your dad's unlimited power of attorney so you *can* pay his bills

and do other things if for some reason he is unable to do it or no longer wants to do those things, meaning you'd have to have access to his checking account. Most importantly, this would make it difficult, if not impossible, for your sister to take over. It doesn't mean you'd be taking over from your dad but it means you'd be his backup for his financial affairs. I ended up doing this for my dad. He was mentally competent but he had Parkinson's and his vision was failing, so day-to-day bill paying and bookkeeping got to be sort of a chore for him; he was happy to let me do it.