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I accepted that my sister has POA for our 100 year mother, as I live far away and she withdrew a huge sum of money and opened an account in her own name. She refuses to tell me which bank. she insists she has POA and can do what she wants

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There is a big problem with that. The money will default to your sister when your mother dies. Is it a large amount of money? or just enough to pay bills? This is very questionable behavior and may be illegal unless the account was open in your mother's name with her SSN, with your sister listed as representative of the account. A POA cannot do what they want to. There are guidelines. One major rule is that a POA cannot use the position to enrich themselves. If she is doing that, or even gives the appearance of doing that, then she has broken the law -- the same as an attorney who steals from a client.
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She is to act in the best interest of her mother, not her own best interest. If you suspect she is not, go immediately to a lawyer to explore legal options.
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Agree with the above posters. Also, as an heir to your mother's assets, I believe you can demand an accounting of how your mother's money is being spent by the POA. Even without the questionable act of your sister opening an account on her own. I know as POA I need to keep good records, so that when the time comes there are no questions or claims about handling money from my siblings.
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What do you consider "a huge sum of money"? No, a person designated as power of attorney cannot "do anything they want" with regard to money or putting their charge in harm's way. The POA should be filed with your mother's county assessor's office or which ever state's office they in which they live and those are public records. Get a copy of the POA, take it to an attorney and have him/her file a Writ asking a judge to look into the finances. If you cannot afford an attorney, some will bill your mother's estate for their services, otherwise go the free legal clinics set up by your state's court. Write a letter, send it registered mail (so she has to sign for it), and tell her she cannot do anything she pleases and tell her you will find a legal way to stop any illegal activities. You will need documentation for attorney to prove you have communicated with her. An oral phone call is hearsay.
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At 100 yrs old is ur Mom living home? If in a nursing facility will her money run out and Medicaid will be needed? If so Medicaid will go back 5 years and ask why the money was withdrawn and set up in another account. This question is asked every year on my nephew's refiling. Has any money been transferred from his account.
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It really depends on the way the POA is worded. Mine allows me to do almost anything, including the re-titling of accounts and gifting to myself or others. I paid an attorney to get this type of POA written and it is 13 pages long. If your sister used the standard POA form for the state your mom resides in, then it is probably around 4-5 pages long and her powers would be limited.
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Just looked at my POA. It reads that I can do pretty much anything "in my mother's name". So that is the clincher, is this withdrawal for Moms benefit? I don't think a POA in my state/county needs to be filed with the county. There is no stamp showing it was. Just a notary confirming we are who we are. Find out who issued the POA and see them. Maybe sister needs to be explained what her duties are. There really is no reason she needs to transfer money. She can write checks out of Moms account. I was able to cash in CDs but the money went to Mom's account.
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How do you know she took a large amount of money from your mother's account & opened another account in her own name with the money? If you aren't POA, you legally do not have any access to your mother's financial information, so how would you find this out?
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I'm starting to suspect that something like this probably happened with my bio dad. He had Alzheimer's when he died but never had a guardian. This is awful suspicious because he only had a POA And I suspect it was the POA who got the house and the insurance money and who knows what else. I think she was doing something behind the scenes to make sure she got everything. At least this is my suspicion because I see red flags in the whole situation. I eventually found out that someone by her name living very close to my dad at the time had gotten in trouble with the IRS over taxes and got foreclosed on, she lost her house. I can't help but wonder if she may have wormed her way into my dad's life through that. Just can't help but wonder sometimes. Sometimes things seem pretty odd, don't they? Sometimes things even seem pretty suspicious
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You can also be just a joint owner on a bank account and also be able to do just about anything. I was joint on but an account with my foster dad but not officially a POA, just a joint owner on the account. Jointly owned accounts by two or more parties allow equal rights and privileges. I don't know if your situation is actually an official POA or just a joint ownership where the person in question is concerned.
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