I have many clients who have been appointed as an agent under one of their parent's durable powers of attorney in order to help mom and/or dad manage their personal and financial affairs. And many times their duties include helping their parents get into a local nursing home, at which point there is a liability landmine that they need to be aware of.
I always tell my clients in such a situation to make it clear when they sign the application for admission to the nursing home that they are signing the document strictly as mom or dad's agent...not in their own individual capacity. Because if something goes wrong with mom or dad's Medicaid application in the future and it appears that the son or daughter signed the application as a "responsible party" in their individual capacity, then the nursing home could go after the son or daughter for the unpaid balance resulting from the failed Medicaid application. This nerve-wracking scenario has played out with many of my clients in the past.
How can you avoid this? The best way is to sign the application with the acronym "POA" following your name every time you sign something. For example, "John Q. Public, POA" instead of just "John Q. Public". It would also help to write out a sentence at the end of the document specifically stating that you are signing the document in your capacity as an agent under a POA and not in your own individual capacity.
Of course, I can't tell you that this is a guaranteed shield against liability. If you make a big enough mistake acting as POA then the nursing home will find a way to claim that you are liable as an individual. But this approach is a good way to make it harder for the nursing home to make such a claim.