Mom passed away and I am not her POA. How can I access the funds in her account that have been built up for 18 months?

Guardian stops at death too.

Call the NH office. Ask what will be needed to get to the money. For me it was her death certificate and a short certificate from Probate saying I was authorized to handle Moms accounts. The certificate will cost you I think $100 in my state anyway. If this is all the money Mom had, then there is no actual Probate involved but may need that certificate.

Do not let the NH tell you Mom's estate is not entitled to it or it goes back to Medicaid, not true. Here's the site concerning PNAs.

https://www.cga.ct.gov/PS99/rpt%5Colr%5Chtm/99-R-0025.htm

If her acct showed transfer on death to you, then you need a death certificate to take to the bank and the money can be transferred to you. Otherwise, I don't believe you can access her money. If she had a will it goes thru probate and the money will be distributed according to that will. If she died intestate it'll take longer to distribute the assets. The court is guided by certain rules in this case.

It should be given to the executor of the estate when death certificate is presented.

I believe it will need to go through probate, although I do not know for sure and would like to know the answer myself. My father had ~$80 in it when he passed, I never bothered to inquire about. He also had a savings account at a bank in his name only with about $90 in it. The bank told me I'd have to go through probate, but the expense and time involved with that made it not worth it for me to pursue. So there the money sits with BOA.

While I do not all the steps in the guardian and payee getting information, but I do know POA ends on death. Or is that what you are saying, in that you can;t access the funds? Normally you need a death certificate to get any information, so once you get that you should be able to access the funds? I hope no one is after you for $$ on the day she passed!

POA ends the moment a person dies. Are these funds the NH is holding in an account for her? Most likely they will send a check to her estate to clear the account.