Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California
power of attorney's gross negligence
Hello
my mother gave power of attorney to my step
sister and after a few months my step sister
opened 2 accounts with 2 gas stations in my
deceased dads name ran up the charges to
$1800.00 and the charges were in the area where
my step sister lives and where her son lives and
then wrote checks to cover her own bills and
never paid my moms
mortgage,gas,electircity,pharmacy card none of
my moms expenses were paid. And when my
step sister went to San Francisco,for vacation,
she used my moms check card.
1)Is my mom responisble for the gas cards when
it is evident that they were not used by my mom.
.
2)what legal action can my mom take when my
step sister paid her bills and none of my moms,
and using the check card for vacation .
4 Answers from Attorneys
Re: power of attorney's gross negligence
Howdy:
Powers of Attorney are ineffective in action on behalf of someone who's dead. That is, a POA terminates upon the death of the principal.
So, you're mom will typically not be responisible for the credit in your dad's name.
If the POA was granted outside some kind of trust agreement, then all it does is allow the attorney-in-fact (your step-sister) to act in the name of the principal...not necessarily on behalf of the principal.
That's the danger with a Power of Attorney, especially a general POA. The agent can do anything, and bind the principal.
Potentially, your mom could sue your step-sister, assuming your step-sister acted outside the agreement she had with your mom, but that will become a she-said, she-said situation.
Your mom needs to revoke the POA. The problem will be getting the original document back. While a revocation is effective against those who know about it, if your step-sister still has the original, and mis-represents its effectiveness to a third party, your mom might still be responsible.
Most POAs are only good for a fixed period...like 2 years. While that may seem like a long time, at least it will have a natural end.
If your mom decides to revoke the POA, make sure she notifies anyone your step-sister might present the POA to.
Re: power of attorney's gross negligence
Your mother can recover against your stepsister for the money, and should, if she hasn't yet, revoke the power of attorney and send a copy of the revocation to anyone who might have that power of attorney.
Re: power of attorney's gross negligence
your mother is probably not responsible for the stuff in dads name. she can report the sister to the cops and also sue her.
Re: power of attorney's gross negligence
Your mother needs to fill out a "Revocation of Power of Attorney" and have it personally served on the perpetrator pronto. You can get a copy of that document on my website at www.monamontgomery.com or just by surfing around on the web. Then she needs to rethink her choices. Once she finds a new person to trust she should make out a new durable power of attorney and/or a living trust and name the new person whom she truly trusts to take over her affairs if she ever becomes incapacitated.
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