Powers of Attorney

I went to a retirement seminar yesterday and there was an Elder Law attorney speaking and was addressing that dreaded issue of what to do with property when headed to the nursing home. He said it was not illegal to transfer assets w/n 5 years of making the move but you would be penalized. He also said that if a family member has a power of attorney generally speaking they can only manage your accounts they cannot actually "give it away" which is the only way to avoid the penalty. So he was adamant that if you give a power of attorney and want the money given away to family members or others you must stipulate specifically in the power of attorney that the person has absolute gift giving powers as well.

Anyone else heard much about this or Elder Lawering?
Candee