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concerned101 Asked November 2013

My sister (POA) wants to sell mom's house. Mom does NOT want this and can afford to keep her home. How do I intervene?

Mom is in Assisted living and has the financial assets to keep her home and wants to use it for holidays, summers, weekends, and for her seasonal clothes and decorations. Mom does NOT want to sell the house, but my sister is really pushing for it.
What legal stance does my mom have -- she is not incompetent but needs to live most of the time in assisted facility. She wants to keep it, on the side, while she can and while she is alive. How do I intervene if needed?

anonymous158299 Nov 2013
i know a guy who sold his moms house behind her back and hes doing 5 years in prison for it.
he always was sort of a crook tho.

kazzaa Nov 2013
Here POA only comes into force when the person is deemed incompetent? Your sister cannot sell your mums house against her will your mum does not want this so legally this cannot happen until your mum is incompetent. I would get her to change POA your sister sounds callous!

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modernbird Nov 2013
Agree with P. Make sure someone checks the insurance on the house. Empty houses are a lot more expensive to insure.

Also, as your mom is competent, she does not need to change the POA to prevent the house from being sold. She just has to say no.

pamstegma Nov 2013
Mom is clinging to the past and not accepting the reality of her situation. Empty houses are targets for burglary and arson and impromptu drug cartels. Your sister is moving in the right direction, long-term care can eat up all her assets very quickly.

gladimhere Nov 2013
The POA change can be done by any attorney, but sis may have an easier time with this if done by the same attorney.

has your mom done any estate planning? If not, that would be very wise. If the POA change is made one clause to consider adding is her wishes about paying family members for her care. This becomes a major issue in many families which breaks up siblings when one does the care, and others just watch hoping there will not be negative effects on inheritance.

gladimhere Nov 2013
Since mom is competent she can put a stop to this by changing the POA. They can be withdrawn at any time. Sister cannot do anything against your mother's wishes. If mom wants to make the POA change get the same attorney to prepare the revision as did the first one.

jeannegibbs Nov 2013
If Mom is competent, it is her decision. POA can take care of selling the house for her if she wants it sold. POA cannot insist on selling it.

Get a copy of the POA. Look up articles on what having a POA means. Sit down and talk with Sis, show her the articles, help her understand the limits of her authority. This may not stop her "pushing for it." She can try to convince Mom to change her mind, but it is Mom's decision, and all of you should recognize that.

My aunt kept her house when she went into a long term care center. The family had a couple of holidays there, but having the house sit empty was not really ideal. They rented it to a family with young children, which pleased my aunt. Eventually they sold the house.

The house can be sold anytime. It may become clear to Mom that paying property taxes and insurance and keeping the house up while it is mostly empty doesn't make sense. But it makes sense to her now, so I'd say, "What's the hurry?"

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