Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Alabama

Re: power of attorney duties

as far as there being "required" an annual accounting, this is apparently an issue of distrust by you as to your sister's ability and perhaps moral duty to "do right" by Dad and the rest of the family.

If you simply wish to be kept informed, and don't believe inappropriate expenditures are being made or could potentially become an issue, then perhaps simply asking your sister to keep the rest of the family involved and informed will be sufficient -- obviously, if sister has nothing to hide, any such an non-threatening request should be honored.

The "requirement" to make an annual accounting to all the family defeats one of the main purposes of even putting a POA in effect in the first place. Generally, a POA does not require such accountings for confidentiality purposes.

has this sister ever had problems managing her own finances in the past? any tax problems, bankruptcy, etc.,

if so, and that is the real reason for your concerns regarding a required acctg, then you should speak with a local attorney about going into court to have a conversatorship established, or at least, you could voice that need with the other family members and perhaps your sister will then agree to some type of monitoring for all concerned, if she then realizes you are quite serious about protecting Dad's interests in his financial matters.

Of course, any agreement short of a fully blown court proceeding will likely be best for all the family, as conservatorship proceedings can become quite expensive for all the sides to the dispute, as well as all of Dad's finances then become a public record and the accompanying costs of a surety bond based on the value of those assets (other than any real estate).

Good luck and let us know if we can be of further assistance. We hope your Dad's stay in the nursing home will be a short one, trusting he is assured of where he will spend eternity. That is the real Q above all such earthly concerns.

Have a blessed week, and kindest regards, Chip

Re: power of attorney duties

Some powers of attorney require some sort of accountability by the agent but many do not. Let me ask you this: would your dad owe you any reporting as to how he spends his own money? If not, why then would his agent? That is the logic we are working with here. If you have concerns about his care or her fiduciary responsibility, a conservatorship might be in order.

William G. Nolan

www.NolanElderLaw.com