Legal Question in Health Care Law in Pennsylvania

How could your wife sign a POA for a friend? The person who makes the POA is called the principal. The POA grants another person (called the agent) the authority to either make healthcare decisions for the principal or manage the financial affairs of the principal. If the principal cannot sign a power of attorney then the agent cannot sign for them.

I have no idea what was signed or whether the POA related to financial affairs, health care decisions or both. Your wife needs to read the POA. If it was a healthcare POA, then it should only allow your wife to make healthcare decisions and while it would obligate the principal to pay for the healthcare (or the financial POA), it does not make the healthcare agent personally liable. Same for the financial POA. The agent manages the princi[pal's property (land or anything other than land, like money, stocks, vehicles) for the principal. The agent pays the principal's bills from the principal's funds but is not personally liable. Because financial powers can be broad or narrow, your wife has to carefully review the POA (if financial) to see whether it was broad or limited in scope.