BeaDeer (X) Oct 20, 2012:

caregiver Based on your explanation, "vzdrževalec" refers to the person who provided the financial means (payment of bills etc.), possibly also personal care. Note: "power of attorney" = "pravni zastopnik", legal guardian = "skrbnik", "varuh".
The question refers to who was the person caring for/helping the deceased. From the legal aspect, a caregiver can be someone who is also a person's legal guardian, with the power of attorney, but not necessarily.

Maria Callebaut-Blagojevic (asker) Oct 20, 2012:

It is for documents that need to be gathered after a person deceases in Slovenia. They ask a lot of questions, also the profession, address etc. of this 'vzdrzevalec' (sorry if I made the non existing form of a word, it was not in nominative in my questionnaire).

BeaDeer (X) Oct 20, 2012:

can you provide more context? it is essential to know whether the term appears in a legal context or that of the usual daily life. in fact, "vzdrževalec" ***need not*** be someone who has been given the power of attorney - it can simply be a son/daughter who sees to it that all physical necessities of that person are met by providing financial means or hiring someone to care for the lady.
Unless legal context is specified, both "legal guardian" or "power of attorney" are incorrect translations. I would say the correct term to use is "caretaker" or "caregiver".