I am confused. Your question says mom is #1 beneficiary in his will. Then you say you just found out he doesn't have a will.
?????
He needs to meet with an elder law attorney, alone, to setup what he wants the distributions to be. It might be ASPCA, or the girl scouts. You need to stay out of it completely as does your mom. Or you could be accused of undue influence, financial exploitation, etc.
I wasn't going to answer this but every time I read your questions and comments, I'm disturbed. You've been given good advice, but I can't but help think that your motives are only inferred, and they in fact are self-serving.
If I'm wrong, I apologize, but your focus on putting yourself in line for some position, initially a "secondary beneficiary/executor" but changed to "executor and secondary beneficiary" strongly suggest to me that there's more going on in your plans than has been revealed.
"We are going to make one [will] up..." It's clear that you have enough knowledge to know how to use English properly, and would not indicate that you're going to "make up" a will for your uncle if you didn't mean it, or even if "we" includes your uncle.
And if so, why aren't you making arrangements for your uncle to in fact meet with an attorney so these questions can be raised with someone who's in a position to address these issues and codify them in a Will? There's a lot of individual and collecltive experience here, but an experienced, knowledgeable and reputable estate planning or elder law attorney should be addressing the issue of conflict of interest, as he/she is the one to codify your uncle's intents.
ONLY YOUR UNCLE can make a Will, and given that he's of clear mind, the ONLY ROLE you should play is seeing that he's physically able to meet with an attorney and express HIS own desires. The decisions are his and should be discussed and codified only by an attorney.
You have absolutely no right to determine the role you'll play UNLESS your uncle specifically asks you. I have the feeling that you and possibly your mother are orchestrating this situation and are deciding what YOU WANT.
"He is of sound mind. We just found out he doesn’t have a will. We are going to make one up where he leaves everything to my mom and makes me executor. I would be the secondary beneficiary only if mom predeceases him. Is there any conflict of interest here for me to be put in his will now?"
Your focus on "conflict of interest" and "now" trouble me greatly. I sense there is a lot more to this situation, such as a child of your uncle's or other contenders for his assets/resources, and that someone potentially in line to inherit is going to be squeezed out, or that your mother is terminally ill and you want to make sure you're included in your uncle's will before she passes.
Personally, I think that since your uncle has a clear mind and presumably is capable of making his own decisions, your role IS in fact one of self interest, and possibly self dealing, which certainly would be a conflict.
You might assuage yourself of any potential guilt by asking people here, but we don't have all the facts, not should we opine on the situation beyond what has already been written and advised. No one has the ability to absolve you of potential conflict of interest.
What you should do is arrange for your uncle to meet with an attorney (as already suggested), ALONE, and express his wishes.
Again, if I've misread your intents, I apologize, but I see so much emphasis on what you want, as opposed to what's good for your uncle. I get the impression you're trying to make decisions for him.
I thought the same thing...money, money, money. It is up to the Uncle as to who gets what, sounds like this person thinks he/she will write up the will and he will just sign it. Something very unsettling here.
POA ends at death, so there would be no conflict of interest. Two entirely different positions of responsibility. Lots of executors are also beneficiaries in a will.
Go to your states attorney general website and read what your responsibilities are for both. It will help you to understand what you can and can't do and explain your legal duties.
If your uncle has dementia it is too late for him to make changes to his will. Do you have the will? Beneficiary and executor are two different things. One is left the money, and the other is left the work of distributing the money according to the dictates of the will. If your mother is sole beneficiary on your Uncle's will, then she will receive his money upon his death. If she is the executor and cannot do the duties of an executor she can go to the court upon his death and say she cannot, that you are her son and would serve as executor (if you are willing). You can be a POA now to help your Uncle. If you are listed as an executor or a beneficiary of his will that constitutes no conflict of interest. But you cannot change his will. And he can change his will only if he is competent to do so. Hope that makes some sense.
Thank you so much. He is of sound mind. We just found out he doesn’t have a will. We are going to make one up where he leaves everything to my mom and makes me executor. I would be the secondary beneficiary only if mom predeceases him. Is there any conflict of interest here for me to be put in his will now?
The POA dies with the person who executed it. Beneficiary is someone who inherits the property thru the will or is named on an account directly. A PR or executor is the person who handles the distribution of funds, pays the outstanding bills, handles the probate issues and so on, after the person dies.
This is up to your uncle to decide who is the PR of his estate, he can have more than one or a back up if the first PR is incapable of handling the duties, due to dementia or other health/mental related issues.
?????
He needs to meet with an elder law attorney, alone, to setup what he wants the distributions to be. It might be ASPCA, or the girl scouts. You need to stay out of it completely as does your mom. Or you could be accused of undue influence, financial exploitation, etc.
https://www.alllaw.com/articles/nolo/wills-trusts/undue-influence-invalidate.html
If I'm wrong, I apologize, but your focus on putting yourself in line for some position, initially a "secondary beneficiary/executor" but changed to "executor and secondary beneficiary" strongly suggest to me that there's more going on in your plans than has been revealed.
"We are going to make one [will] up..." It's clear that you have enough knowledge to know how to use English properly, and would not indicate that you're going to "make up" a will for your uncle if you didn't mean it, or even if "we" includes your uncle.
And if so, why aren't you making arrangements for your uncle to in fact meet with an attorney so these questions can be raised with someone who's in a position to address these issues and codify them in a Will? There's a lot of individual and collecltive experience here, but an experienced, knowledgeable and reputable estate planning or elder law attorney should be addressing the issue of conflict of interest, as he/she is the one to codify your uncle's intents.
ONLY YOUR UNCLE can make a Will, and given that he's of clear mind, the ONLY ROLE you should play is seeing that he's physically able to meet with an attorney and express HIS own desires. The decisions are his and should be discussed and codified only by an attorney.
You have absolutely no right to determine the role you'll play UNLESS your uncle specifically asks you. I have the feeling that you and possibly your mother are orchestrating this situation and are deciding what YOU WANT.
"He is of sound mind. We just found out he doesn’t have a will. We are going to make one up where he leaves everything to my mom and makes me executor. I would be the secondary beneficiary only if mom predeceases him. Is there any conflict of interest here for me to be put in his will now?"
Your focus on "conflict of interest" and "now" trouble me greatly. I sense there is a lot more to this situation, such as a child of your uncle's or other contenders for his assets/resources, and that someone potentially in line to inherit is going to be squeezed out, or that your mother is terminally ill and you want to make sure you're included in your uncle's will before she passes.
Personally, I think that since your uncle has a clear mind and presumably is capable of making his own decisions, your role IS in fact one of self interest, and possibly self dealing, which certainly would be a conflict.
You might assuage yourself of any potential guilt by asking people here, but we don't have all the facts, not should we opine on the situation beyond what has already been written and advised. No one has the ability to absolve you of potential conflict of interest.
What you should do is arrange for your uncle to meet with an attorney (as already suggested), ALONE, and express his wishes.
Again, if I've misread your intents, I apologize, but I see so much emphasis on what you want, as opposed to what's good for your uncle. I get the impression you're trying to make decisions for him.
Go to your states attorney general website and read what your responsibilities are for both. It will help you to understand what you can and can't do and explain your legal duties.
This is up to your uncle to decide who is the PR of his estate, he can have more than one or a back up if the first PR is incapable of handling the duties, due to dementia or other health/mental related issues.