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My niece is guardian for her mother.  The house she lives in is in her mother's name the mother is in nursing home. Niece has lived in the house for her whole life paid the bills etc her step sister is selling the house from under her what are her rights can her step sister do this?

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Yes, she can do this. Perhaps money is needed to pay the nursing home ? Has your niece been paying all the bills - insurance, property tax etc? Regardless - I imagine as your niece has been there a long time and been paying some bills that she would have rights as a tennent and could force a formal eviction. However, that will only delay the inevitable- as legal guardian the step-sister can make any and all decisions regarding the mothers care and finances. The only exception would be if the mother has a seperate trust with a different trustee - and the trust owns the house. Sorry.
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Also to clarify, do you mean a court appointed guardianship, or are you talking about a POA granted by the mother??
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Okay, so sorry - it was the middle of the night and I misread your post - twice. So, ignore my first advice. Whomever is legal guardian has the authority to sell the house on the mothers behalf. If the step-sister is not guardian and/or is not named in any way as partial owner she has no authority here. Tell your niece to consult an attorney and to send step-sister a cease and desist letter. But also tell her to be sure her moms bills are being paid - is there any reason to suspect the sale of the house is being forced?
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Just to make sure I have this straight....Niece is the guardian, but step-sister is not. Does step-sister have any rights to manage your aunt' s affairs? If your niece is the sole guardian and step-sister is not a joint owner of the house, I don't understand how she can assume any authority for selling the house.

I think RM interpreted your post that the step-sister was the guardian, in which case she likely would have authority to sell the house depending on the specific power granted in the guardianship order. However, if your niece is the guardian, and step-sister has no legal authority, then she's way out of her bounds by try to sell the house.

Perhaps you could clarify this; I was a bit confused at first after reading your post just once. The question would be what legal authority, if any, does the stepsister have? If she's named as an heir in a will or trust, that doesn't take place while your aunt is still living, so she doesn't have "advanced" standing to sell.

I would think a realtor would have questioned the step-sister's role and authority to sell. If not, it would certainly be flagged when the title work is ordered, as someone who's not a feeholder, joint owner, guardian or proxy under a DPOA or POA wouldn't have authority to execute the transfer documents.

And just to clarify, the step-sister has no guardianship rights over your aunt?
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Sleep deprivation is a terrible thing - it can turn a reasonably intelligent person into a moron! Again - so sorry!
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RM, not to worry - it happens to us a lot ... me too! If you're in one of the areas that's plagued with consistent 90 degree weather, I think the there's a heat affect as well. It does seem to slow down my mental functions. Or maybe I'm just getting old?

I've misread posts frequently, even when my brain isn't overheated.
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CWillie raises an issue I hadn't thought of...something else going on with the house. Are the property taxes current?

I'm wondering if the step sister has somehow obtained legal authority from your aunt, and you're unaware of it? Is the step-sister is frequent contact with your aunt at the NH?
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