Does a living Will trump a POA in Washington state?

You are obviously a babe in the woods when it comes to your legal standing with mom. A living will has absolutely NOTHING to do with your mom "leaving everything to me." It has to do with what she would want done medically if she is unable to speak for herself.

As to whether your brother can usurp assets meant for you, that would depend on how those assets were held. AND! Whether or not your mom has a last will and testament naming you as the sole beneficiary. You know she has a living will. That's not what's needed. Does she have a last will and testament?

Find that out. See what it says. See how your mom holds her assets and you'll be closer to your answers.

If your mom wishes, she can revoke her son's POA. Or, if she never gave him a copy, she can just destroy the document. You should consult an attorney on mom's behalf for answers.

mykotaus, If the new Will cuts him out completely, it could be contested by your brother. He may contend you had undue influence. Your mom needs to see a lawyer to get this done properly.

A living will makes medical decisions not financial decisions. The living will is to prevent your mother from being placed on life support against her will. You need POA for financial decision making, especially if your brother is not trustworthy. Your mother, if competent, she can appoint you POA at any time. The new POA cancels the old.

Are you meaning to say a "will"? Leaving you all of her assets? Either way none of this has to do with your brother's POA. She needs to cancel his POA. And yes he can abuse her assets if he has the POA but it is neither ethically or legally right to do so.

As others wrote....a Living Will is a medical directive establishing care to be given or not given under certain medical conditions. A Will is the document that addresses disposition of possessions.

Make an appointment with the attorney who prepared the POA to see your mother and change the terms to remove your brother. Also inquire if your mother does have a will and if not request that one be drafted, or explore the option of holding assets in joint ownership with rights to the survivor.

Sorry it was a Will..but she is still alive..she doesnt trust him due to drugs and being arrested and we have no way to track him to send a stop on a power of Attorney.. as far as the Will she had one written up, giving me everything to either keep or distribute as I see fit..

The will is separate from the POA. The POA is no longer in effect when someone dies. The executor of the will takes over matters of the estate at that time. Has the will been filed? If so, then it is what should be followed when your mother dies. Are you the executor/trix?

The only problem I can see here is your brother getting money using his POA document if people do not know it has been revoked. You do need to let him know in a registered (signed for) letter that it is revoked. If he knows, attempting to get money or anything else would be theft. I hope that doesn't happen.

One warning I've heard often when it comes to appointing a POA is to make sure it is someone you trust completely. A dishonest POA can cause a lot of financial damage. It is illegal for them to do, but there are some who would do it anyway.

I've never been involved in a situation in which a DPOA was revoked or revised and the previous designated person's location was unknown so he/she couldn't be notified, but it does occur to me that there is an option.

I'm assuming you know the general area in which your brother lives? If so, a notice can be published in a legal newspaper for a given number of weeks. It's not done so that a person can necessarily be located (most people don't read legal newspapers), but rather to comply with publication as a last resort method of notification when someone can't be found (if that makes sense!). An attorney could handle this aspect by sending a revocation notice for publication to the local legal newspaper.

But you still need to get a new DPOA drafted and change any joint ownership designations on accounts - ASAP.