This is literally like a Lifetime movie. My dad was diagnosed with dementia in 2017. He had a meeting with all of his kids letting us know that his POA was stealing money from him. She kept our dad away from us until the day he died in 2024. My dad was keeping track of his finances before the dementia got too bad. She cashed out a life insurance policy my dad had for years and took the money from his bank account she took over $100,000 dollars from my dad put his trucks in her name or either sold them. My dad had a home in his name as well and once he died a few months later she put the house in her name. Also his Discover Card Company sent me statements of my dad owing over $16,000 worth of charges were made at a liquor store, extremely high amounts of food transactions and a lot of other things. She had been taking advantage of my sickly dad until the day he died. My dad was very wealthy, has 8 kids yet left us with nothing and the POA got everything!
As I read the story above, two things strike me as odd that you need to think about before consulting a lawyer.
1- POA ends with your father’s death. How could she “put her name” on the house a few months later? That aside, transfer of ownership of the house should’ve happened in the will. Do you have a reason to believe she had him change his will while demented?
2-Why wan’t there any action when your dad declared, still living, that the POA was stealing from him? When was that?
Sorry to hear about the loss of your dad, it sounds like all this is being discovered now.
That means he made her his executor of his will, as well.
And also he may have made her his sole beneficiary.
Have you accessed the will filed in probate Court?
Do understand, if he created a Trust this isn't filed.
She could not have put a house into her name with use of either a POA or a EXECUTOR. So something wrong with that story, right there.
From all you say here your wealthy father left everything to HER. POA, Will, Charge Cards and everything. You say your father went into dementia in 2017. I suspect lots of water flowing under the bridges between 2017 and 2024 if you were not in contact with Dad and filing charges against her for elder abuse. Where were you during those years until his death?
My advice to you, and in order to settle your mind so that you can know your options and know whether you have to move on or not, is to see an attorney.
If your father died this year, and she was made executor of his will then that Will will be a public document filed in his country records.
Your attorney can look up this will with ease and see who the listed beneficiaries are. Your attorney can check on the house deed and title for you.
You will, without ironclad proof, not be able to do anything to place charges, but you can certainly find out if this very wealthy man made you a beneficiary.
It sounds as though she took care of him between his diagnosis of dementia in 2017 and his death in 2024. If he was in memory care during that time it likely cost somewhere around 20,000 a month; money disappears quickly at that rate.
The time to file elder abuse charges with an attorney, and take this POA to court to have the court examine her records would have been 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and so on. Too late after death to say "Oh, wait a minute, Dad told us in 2017 he didn't think she was functioning well for him".
Good luck. You're dealing with a whole lot here, including stature of limitations laws. Hope you'll update us as you sleuth this all out.
Got to ask, why out of 8 kids, why wasn’t 1 of y’all named to be his POA? Out of 8 and thier spouses or partners, there wasn’t a single one who could be a POA? It does beg the question…Why was this person named and signed off on paperwork by your wealthy dad to be his POA?
Alva is spot on, a POA cannot do the paperwork/ signature needed to title transfer anything owned by your dad after death. That had to be done by some other type of valid authority on a State issued document that allows for this. Also she’s spot on that much of his supposed $ could have gone to pay for care… easily 200K per year for white glove type of in-home-healthcare. As a POA, she is under no obligation to also be a caregiver, instead she hires help.
You want this dealt with, then go and find a probate attorney who does litigation and pay them an upfront retainer to serve as representation and start the research into the Estate. Have to have an atty, not a DIY.
also and not to be too petty…. a Discover card? Not an Amex Centurion or Amex Platinum or Chase Sapphire Reserve, but Discover, lol!
But why didn't anyone believe him back in 2017?