My mother just passed, my sister had POA. Do I have the legal right to make my sister accountable for all my mother's finances?
During the time my sister was POA, my mom recieved $166,0000.00, which is apparently gone. Legally does my sister have to show accountability for where the funds have gone? How can I find out if there is a will? She also sold my mother's house.
Your state's government website will tell you how you go about finding out what's happening with your late mother's estate.
A person acting with power of attorney is accountable for how the protected person's money is spent. Only that does not necessarily mean that your sister is accountable directly to you. If you have substantial grounds for believing that your sister misappropriated or misspent your mother's money, and you have properly taken into account the probable costs of your mother's care and living expenses during the time your sister was acting for her, there will be steps you can take - get legal advice.
Also - I'm asking, not accusing - but when you say your mother "just" passed, when was this? And was your sister also your mother's primary caregiver? It's just that sometimes family members who have not been closely involved expect the will to be read pretty much at the funeral and to collect their cash-stuffed envelopes on the way out, and become immediately suspicious without realizing how long things take to sort out. Have you allowed a decent interval?
Wills have an executor. If you are a beneficiary of a will the executor according to the laws of the estate must publish a letter to you telling you that you are. Wills, unlike Trusts, are filed for probate and are public documents. They must be filed within a certain time limit. If your sister is also executor and you cannot talk to her you can check on the publication of a will.
No, your sister was the POA and owes NO ACCOUNTING to you. She spent the money as she did for your mother as she saw fit. IF you suspected elder abuse or fraud WHILE YOUR MOM WAS ALIVE you could have contacted an attorney to ask the court to examine her records. It is too late to do that now. The POA does not owe information to ANYONE but the one who appointed her and to the court.
It is my understanding that unlike guardianship where the guardian is accountable to the court for their charges finances a POA is only legally accountable to the primary so your sister as POA was only accountable to your mother. That said if your mother was considered vulnerable and someone had high suspicion of your sister taking advantage for personal gain that was the time to see an attorney about what to do if anything about that. A POA has a lot of leeway unless the POA document has guidelines and stipulations in it which is why the primary has to be competent and sure about the person/people they trust with this.
If there is a will and your sister is executor she is accountable to the named beneficiaries, the court and the will can be challenged in particular by close family members who are left out of the will which is why a little something is often left to everyone who could contest or actual mention is made in the will if some family members are specifically left out. Be very sure that it’s worth it though if you choose to do this because you will burn through money hiring your own lawyer and likely burn bridges and relationships with family which might seem fine now but might not in the future.
You will need hard proof, therefore contact an attorney and bring what current proof you have to find out what more you will need and if you have a winnable case.
If your Mother had any remaining assets worth over $75K in most states this would mean probate, so you can ask the attorney this question as well.
Please note that if your Mother was in a facility for few years it is totally possible all those funds went to pay for that, or privately hired caregivers. If she needed medical-level care this is the most expensive, and also MC is very pricey.
How do you know how much money she had? How long ago was that? Do you have the funds to pay an attorney for the consult or if you lose?
Nope. You have no legal right to know anything. My mothers assisted living is running between $10 and $12k/month. My dads memory care is $6300/month. If your mom was receiving care, don’t expect much to remain. You can see what her house sold for on Zillow. Medicare annual out of pocket is also high. It’s all shockingly expensive. If your mom had enough to cover all her earthly expenses, consider yourself and family lucky. At this point even if your sister paid ten times more than she needed to for care, what do you think the consequences are. She’d write you a check for the overage? Not happening. We have financial POA for my parents. I am happy to share details with my brother but I won’t be showing my sister anything. If my mom wanted her to know, she would have showed her or asked me to show her.
And when it's all said and done, she has a legal right to sue in court for the answers. So, you do have a right to know, actually. If not, it's up to the COURTS to tell you differently.
A comment from me: It’s odd that you know so little about your deceased mom, like whether she had a will or not. If you two were close, she would have told you all that.
Please don’t tell me, you dumped all the caregiving problems/stress on your POA sister, disappeared for years when they (mom + sister) needed your help, and now that your mom died you just want the MONEY.
I would say that if Mom had a Will there is an Executor and the Executor has a right to request all records of the POA. If found the POA benefited financially without the POA saying she got paid or a contract between her and Mom saying she got paid, then you maybe able to bring her up on charges of financial abuse of an elderly person.
No Will, no assets so Will can't be probated, then see an Elder Lawyer. I really don't see were you have to have proof, as POA sister need to keep good records. She needs to show proof.
Was Moms house sold for her care in an AL or NH? An AL can run 5k or more a month, a NH 10k or more a month. So 166k will not last long.
If there is a Will Mom seems to no longer have an estate so its really null and void. When her house was sold, you should have been allowed to take what you wanted.
justine1212: In all kindness, you may be asking the questions a tad too late since your mother, who was the principal (in POA) has passed away, e.g. while your mother was alive, if you suspected monies misspent, then was the time to question it. OR if it was a recent death, you could pose your questions to an attorney. I presume that you are talking about $166,000.00. The placement of the extra zero perhaps is an error. Best of luck.
At this point, only the executor of the estate can deal with your mother's finances. Not you (if you are not the executor) and not your sister (if she is not the executor). If your mother had a lawyer she regularly dealt with, ask him/her about whether a will was drawn up. Otherwise, you and sister should go through mom's papers and banks to search for a will. Notify a local lawyer that deals with estate law to help with your other questions.
Was Mom in a Assisted Living or a Long-term care facility? If so, the cost would have been over 5k for AL and 10k or more for LTC. That eats 166k up fast.
Is 166k what you feel she received in SS over a period of years? I figured at 1500 a month, that would be 9 years. If Mom had a home, that 1500 would be eaten up in upkeep, taxes and bills.
The home...if Mom was in an AL or NH it may have been sold for Moms care. If sold after her death, then I would question it.
POA stops at death. A Will can not be probated until 10 days (or about) after death. The Executor takes the Will to Probate and its filed and made public. All beneficiaries must be notified the Will is now filed and sent a copy of it or tell them its available to them. The Executor is now responsible to pay all outstanding bills. An accting is done and beneficiaries sign off or contest at that time,
No Will, then a family member files to become an Administrator. They do everything an Executor does but...the State determines who inherits. Usually the children first.
To find out if a Will has been filed, you call Probate in the County Mom lived in. You can get a copy thru them.
Now a Will does not need to be filed right away. My Mom died in Sept and I didn't file till Nov. So, I don't think it would be wise to hire a lawyet at this time. I would give your sister some time. But if after a reasonable time you hear nothing from her, you will need to call her and ask if Moms estate has been probated. If she says there was no estate to probate then ask ur questions but don't accuse. One simple question, what happen to her estate. The answer maybe, it was used for her care. Before the house was sold, the taxes, utilities and up keep still had to be paid.
That's also an excellent point, Joanne, about whether the money came in a lump sum or is what the OP is figuring over a period of time. I just assumed she meant a lump sum, but I can see someone figuring monthly income from pension/soc. security.
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A person acting with power of attorney is accountable for how the protected person's money is spent. Only that does not necessarily mean that your sister is accountable directly to you. If you have substantial grounds for believing that your sister misappropriated or misspent your mother's money, and you have properly taken into account the probable costs of your mother's care and living expenses during the time your sister was acting for her, there will be steps you can take - get legal advice.
Also - I'm asking, not accusing - but when you say your mother "just" passed, when was this? And was your sister also your mother's primary caregiver? It's just that sometimes family members who have not been closely involved expect the will to be read pretty much at the funeral and to collect their cash-stuffed envelopes on the way out, and become immediately suspicious without realizing how long things take to sort out. Have you allowed a decent interval?
If you are a beneficiary of a will the executor according to the laws of the estate must publish a letter to you telling you that you are. Wills, unlike Trusts, are filed for probate and are public documents. They must be filed within a certain time limit. If your sister is also executor and you cannot talk to her you can check on the publication of a will.
No, your sister was the POA and owes NO ACCOUNTING to you. She spent the money as she did for your mother as she saw fit. IF you suspected elder abuse or fraud WHILE YOUR MOM WAS ALIVE you could have contacted an attorney to ask the court to examine her records. It is too late to do that now. The POA does not owe information to ANYONE but the one who appointed her and to the court.
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If there is a will and your sister is executor she is accountable to the named beneficiaries, the court and the will can be challenged in particular by close family members who are left out of the will which is why a little something is often left to everyone who could contest or actual mention is made in the will if some family members are specifically left out. Be very sure that it’s worth it though if you choose to do this because you will burn through money hiring your own lawyer and likely burn bridges and relationships with family which might seem fine now but might not in the future.
If your Mother had any remaining assets worth over $75K in most states this would mean probate, so you can ask the attorney this question as well.
Please note that if your Mother was in a facility for few years it is totally possible all those funds went to pay for that, or privately hired caregivers. If she needed medical-level care this is the most expensive, and also MC is very pricey.
How do you know how much money she had? How long ago was that? Do you have the funds to pay an attorney for the consult or if you lose?
A comment from me:
It’s odd that you know so little about your deceased mom, like whether she had a will or not. If you two were close, she would have told you all that.
Please don’t tell me, you dumped all the caregiving problems/stress on your POA sister, disappeared for years when they (mom + sister) needed your help, and now that your mom died you just want the MONEY.
No Will, no assets so Will can't be probated, then see an Elder Lawyer. I really don't see were you have to have proof, as POA sister need to keep good records. She needs to show proof.
Was Moms house sold for her care in an AL or NH? An AL can run 5k or more a month, a NH 10k or more a month. So 166k will not last long.
If there is a Will Mom seems to no longer have an estate so its really null and void. When her house was sold, you should have been allowed to take what you wanted.
Was Mom in a Assisted Living or a Long-term care facility? If so, the cost would have been over 5k for AL and 10k or more for LTC. That eats 166k up fast.
Is 166k what you feel she received in SS over a period of years? I figured at 1500 a month, that would be 9 years. If Mom had a home, that 1500 would be eaten up in upkeep, taxes and bills.
The home...if Mom was in an AL or NH it may have been sold for Moms care. If sold after her death, then I would question it.
POA stops at death. A Will can not be probated until 10 days (or about) after death. The Executor takes the Will to Probate and its filed and made public. All beneficiaries must be notified the Will is now filed and sent a copy of it or tell them its available to them. The Executor is now responsible to pay all outstanding bills. An accting is done and beneficiaries sign off or contest at that time,
No Will, then a family member files to become an Administrator. They do everything an Executor does but...the State determines who inherits. Usually the children first.
To find out if a Will has been filed, you call Probate in the County Mom lived in. You can get a copy thru them.
Now a Will does not need to be filed right away. My Mom died in Sept and I didn't file till Nov. So, I don't think it would be wise to hire a lawyet at this time. I would give your sister some time. But if after a reasonable time you hear nothing from her, you will need to call her and ask if Moms estate has been probated. If she says there was no estate to probate then ask ur questions but don't accuse. One simple question, what happen to her estate. The answer maybe, it was used for her care. Before the house was sold, the taxes, utilities and up keep still had to be paid.