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wheniamgone Asked February 2013

When mom died dad had a will making me the person who decides what happens to his property, now he remarried, is the will still good?

igloo572 Mar 2013
His will as written is valid. But the bigger issue will be if he does a codicil to the will that changes it to others to be the executor (like the new wife) or changes what happens with his assets after his death in the old will. He doesn't have to let you or anyone know that there had been a codicil done.

Do you think there will be issues with the new wife & your family & her family?

Was probate done on your mom? If so & you don't have a copy of what happened in probate, I'd get them. All those documents are public record and I would go on-line to get a copy of them and any other legal documents (like deeds on property your parents owned) that are recorded in the county courthouse. Property stuff is usually in the Assessors section and wills, etc in Chancery Court or Probate court section. Most counties have all this on-line public access at minimal cost.

DPOA is good but make sure that it is not written up as a "springing" POA. I'd also get a MPOA (for medical stuff) and a "Guardianship in Case of Incapacity" done if allowed in your state. The latter is especially good if later on in a fit of anger or dementia, they go on a I'm changing my pod rant. Ideally this should be done by an elder care attorney who has their practice in the county where your dad has property. Really with a new marriage, dad should have a codicil done to reflect his new situation & how it does or doesn't change his estate, just to keep it all kum-ba-ya for everybody involved. Good luck.

realtime Mar 2013
Maybe he just made you "executor" of his estate. That makes you responsible for filing the papers and carrying out the terms of his will---it doesn't let you "decide" what to do with his property unless that's an explicit part of the will. Better check.

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wheniamgone Feb 2013
Also I got a DPOA today would need to still get a POA?

Here4her Feb 2013
I believe as long as he is of sound mind, he can change it.
If he hasn't done that, it is good.
Problem is, he can change it and you don't have to be informed.
Prenupt or Postnup.

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