My husband passed away and brokerage firm said my POA was taken off.

Who is the executor/administrator of his estate? If there is no will - he passed intestate. If there is no administrator - one will have to be named by the courts in order to execute the will. (unlikely if there is a will in place, that there is no executor named, but I guess it's possible if the stars aligned).

But your role as POA - is done. POA is negated upon death of the conveyor/primary. You no longer have any authority to speak or execute anything on behalf of the estate.


And that is the key. The POA was for the PERSON. The executor /administrator is for the ESTATE. They both have to be named legally/in writing. And they can be different people.

If you are the executor/administrator - you need to file your husband's will and get letters of testamentary proving that you can execute tasks on behalf of your husband's estate. I'm not sure exactly how that works for a spouse's estate as I have only done this for a parent. But if you don't have a will for your DH or you are not the executor, the next step is finding out who IS, or how to execute the process without a will.

Side note: are you the BENEFICIARY for the brokerage account? Or was it a joint account? If so, you can approach this a different way. Either as joint owner of the account (which it doesn't sound like if you needed POA for it) or you can request beneficiary provisions (if applicable) with the death certificate.

This brokerage account will now pass to the person listed as beneficiary or to the estate of your husband.

POA dies with the person. It is gone. Done. Over. Cannot be used for anything.

Upon death the POA dies and the executor of the will or trustee of the trust takes over all financial matters. If that is YOU then you need to go to a probate or trust and estate attorney as you are not clear on the titles and duties at all; you will need help.
If there is no will whatsoever then someone needs to be appointed in court; a probate attorney will help you to become administrator (executor) of the estate if that is what you wish.

People may be simply asking you for your old papers to see if you HAD any connection.
I am sorry for your loss. But POA work is now done.

The authority of the PoA ends the moment the principle passes. Then, the deceased's Executor takes over everything regarding his estate.

Did he have a Last Will and Testament? Whoever was named as his Executor in his Will now needs to deal with carrying out the wishes expressed in his Will, paying off his all the paperwork, filing probate, etc.

You will need to call each financial institution where he had assets (and you were not joing on the account) and inform them of his passing and ask what the next steps are, and they will give you instructions.

Were you named as his beneficiary on any of his investments? If so you will probably need to provide an original copy of his Death Certificate (and/or whatever else they required).

I'm sorry for your loss... I hope everything goes smoothly.

PoA ends at death

I am trying to understand which POA you are talking about. If you were his POA, that ends with his death and you would most likely have to be named executrix to handle financial affairs upon his death. That info would be in his will. If you are talking about someone to act as POA for you and your interests, you will need to get someone else to be willing to act as POA on your behalf if that was previously your husband. You will need have that documented legally with the appropriate paperwork. You would give the POA a copy so they use it when and where necessary.

What you need HIS will, whoever he appointed as executor/administrator there is now in charge of his estate. You can ask a lawyer to help you with this.