Abuse of the power of attorney is the situation in which an older person is in-accurately designated as lacking financial capacity or being unable to per-form necessary financial tasks, or in which a lack of capacity is accurately designated but the person with the power of attorney is abusing the role (e.g., using the money improperly). If misrepresentation of the lack of capacity is suspected, the patient should be interviewed to determine whether he or she should be encouraged to resume personal control of financial matters. If there is concern that the person with power of attorney or health care proxy may not be acting in the best interest of the patient, the physician or other members of the inter professional team should request the necessary documents to ensure that the assumption of fiduciary responsibilities is indeed authorized.