Legal Question in Administrative Law in California
I wrote:My husband's mother died 10 years ago. She had Alzheimer's 10 years prior to that. At the beginning, she signed a power of attorney so my husband could take care of her bills and such. In the last few years we have been getting small checks of around $15.00 a year addressed to her in care of my husband. They are from an oil well she had a share or what ever it is called. For years it never produced anything. We never heard from them. We forgot about them. How can we put it all in his name. Or what should we do. I think we still have the power of attorney letter. Should we just mail them a copy and change it.
Answer was:
Powers of attorney, at least those of the kind your husband probably held, expire upon the death of the principal. The disposition of the working interest in the oil well or oilfield should be handled as a probate matter. The person who is or was the executor or administrator should write to the transfer agent for the issuer of the security, enclosing copies of the death certificate and evidence of appointment as personal representative.
I replied:Mother had nothing to administer, no evidence of appointment, we forgot about the oil thing.The power of attorney is all we have. Is that what you mean to mail to the oil company? If we can not find it. Do we just mail in a copy of her death certificate and ask to have it put in his name
1 Answer from Attorneys
As the prior answer stated, the power of attorney document is worthless; it is as though it was torn up and thrown away. It lasts only as long as the person lives, as it only allows your Husband to act at though he is his mother. Once his mother died there is nothig she could do so there is nothing that can be done through the power of attorney.
Send the oil company the certificate of death, a statement under penalty of perjury by your husband that there was no Will, no other children nor husbands at the time of her death, no probate. Ask them to make the transfer of title, but they have the right to say no. Find out what would satisfiy them.
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