My sister is POA. Can she arbitrarily take money from my inheritance portion without my consent?

Id get a lawyer. Because she could sell the house as is. She can keep you in the dark and tell you nothing is left. She does not get to decide what you get and what she will take. Do not put it off because she could take everything and tell you it was never there to begin with.

I had to do that, and lawyer said why didn't you come to me sooner? Don't put it off.

Your mom - a well off widow of many years - is private pay in a NH, she has Medicare. Medicaid is not involved at all & TY for posting that as it’s important. 15+ years ago while dad was alive, he & mom did a major reno on their old house which they had the $ to do in full. Since then dad has passed & mom has entered a NH; home is vacant & Sissy as POA has had upgrades done - that she (Sissy) has fronted the $ costs of & spent the time to oversee - obstensibly to have the home more market ready & it is going up for sale &/or rented. This is it in a nutshell, right?

It sounds like, Your dads will left everything to his wife (it was a “pour over” will) and only upon mom’s death will there ever be any distribution of assets of her estate to her beneficiaries, which are you and your Sister. You really should not count on an inheritance ahead of time; there could not actually be anything substantial left.

So NOT until mom dies and probate runs it’s course, will there ever be an inheritance. Sissy is POA so Sissy in charge of any decisions regarding moms care, how it paid for or what happens with moms assets while alive. There is no requirement to have mom die and actually leave an inheritance…. If $ needs to be spent by the POA on moving mom to a way more expensive place or hiring extra aides for mom or doing maintenance or reno to moms property, it can be done by the POA.

If in fact Sissy has fronted the $$$ to do the most recent repairs / renovations, I’d guess that in fact there really isn’t much money liquid (like in savings or sitting in a bank account) as moms cash is all dedicated to paying for her care. I imagine that’s Sissy is spending her own $ to get a better price on moms place and plans to be fully reimbursed from the Act of Sale $. Sounds like your BIL has his staff keep precise records so all this can be verified and to the penny paid to Sis & beyond ok for any legal challenges or future probate filings.

Your Sister as POA has a fiduciary duty to your mom as to how $ is spent and how moms assets are managed. For you to challenge her as POA, you have to, HAVE TO, have an attorney, take her to court and show via forensic accounting of moms finances for past 2-3 years that Sissy is not doing her fiduciary duty and a guardian needs to be named. Your attorneys could file to have it be you, but if you have your own financial issues, iffy credit reports, no secure income, the court isn’t going to appoint you….. either court determines you have no reason to challenge Sissy as POA or an outside guardian is named & they get total control of mom, her health care and her home & her $; plus an outside guardian can bill professional hourly rates to administer moms affairs. Watch what you wish for…….

I’m not trying to be harsh but it comes across as you are… in the words of an Aunt of mine…. “1 will reading from being able to buy a used car”. Should you challenge your Sister, all the negative decisions you have made will be brought out & in detail by her attorney to the court. For your own sake, don’t go there. Let Sissy get moms house sold, get reimbursed for her costs, pay for whatever great care mom needs and hopefully when mom finally dies there actually is $ left that can be distributed to you & Sissy as per moms will.

POA ends at death. The executor of the estate takes care of carrying out the will. If she is executor of the estate, she may try to take the money from your share of the total estate. If she does, file an appeal to the probate court. I hope you didn't sign anything agreeing to pay of the renovations. Probable scenario is she sells the house, cost of renovations for which she has receipts are deducted from sale price with half of the cost coming from your share and the other half coming from her half of proceeds.

Elder Law Attorney...........get everything in writing and let your sister know what you know.

She can't reallocate portions established in a Will. Most terminal documents I've seen though do require payment of all expenses before disposition of assets to the heirs.

Do you have anything in writing from your sister of her intent to take funds off your inheritance? What documentation exists to prove the accuracy and validity of her expenditures?

Your dad's will expresses his intent that you and your sister share equally in the money that remains. I presume he gave all of his assets to your mother, initially. While her will might also contain this instruction, an inheritance does not actually exist until your mother dies.
Then, there are numerous steps to settle the estate - if she has had to go on Medicaid due to lack of her own funds (because they were spent to renovate her house and then sell it), Medicaid. has the right to recover the cost of all the care that she received. They can put a lien on the house so that a sale makes them the first creditor.
If your mother lives for 5 full years past the date of the last bill for the renovation, then Medicaid may not go after the house.
Medicaid is the payer of last resort and is required to ensure that all other resources have been used for the elder's benefit.
As Geaton states, I hope she is keeping very good records.
Please don't count on receiving any inheritance - while it was your Dad's wish, the reality is more complex. I'm sorry your sister has done this, causing distress for you.

You don't say how old your Mom is. The only reason it may matter is that even with dementia she can live many more years in the NH, which will be very expensive. If your Mom ever needs Medicaid there will be a lien on the house after she passes which will need to be satisfied.

Sometimes in order to get top dollar from a home sale, many updates and renovations need to happen. I see it all the time here where I live. If she is the only PoA she is under no obligation to disclose anything about your Mom's affairs to you now or ever. If you think fraud or financial abuse is being committed, you will need to take hard evidence to an attorney to fight it on your Mother's behalf.

As PoA, I hope your sister is keeping very detailed record of what she was and is spending for your Mom.

My sincere apologies. Mis-information on my part. My mother does not receive Medicaid.

There really isn't an "inheritence" until your mom passes away.

Insofar as your dad's excellent stocks, well, I know MY portfolio is down about 20% since we have entered into a bear market. The value of those stocks might not outlive your mom; you might need all the value of that house to continue to pay for mom's care.

In other words, I think this "worry" over your share of an inheritence is somewhat pre-mature. When the time comes, if there is still a question as to your share, you can probably challenge that when the estate comes into probate.

Lovella, the first mistake your sister did was to over-remodel a house in a neighborhood that will not gain the value.

To put into a house $200k in renovation costs, your sister is forgetting that the neighborhood sets the price, not the over-the-top renovations. I've been in real estate for over 30 years, and have seen this mistake over and over.

You mentioned that your sister is married to a multi-millionaire. Don't forget that even multi-millionaires can be up to their eyeballs in debt. Those who brag and show off shiny new objects aren't as wealthy as they say.

You are NOT responsible for any of her remodeling. It was her choice. I would speak to an Elder Law Attorney to get his/her ideas on how to handle this matter.