Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Louisiana
Limitation of Power of Attorney: Our mother gave my sister durable power of attorney (POA) when she became ill and went into the nursing home. The POA authorizes my sister as agent to:
a. transfer funds in and out for �all accounts in Principal�s name.�
b. �make gifts or other gratuitous transfers�
c. receive �reimbursement for cost and expenses reasonably incurred on Principal�s behalf, but shall not otherwise be entitled to compensation of services rendered.�
Our mother�s will signed before she became ill gives her property to all of us, her children.
With this POA from our mother, our sister changes our mother�s checking account which was solely in our mother�s name before POA granted to a joint account with right of survivorship (JROS) bank account with herself and my mother as owners.
Does such a POA allow my sister to make herself joint owner of the account?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Yes and no. The POA does authorize her to access the accounts (assuming that authority is granted in the POA itself). However, the POA dies witht the principal and the agent has no right to touch any of the principal's assets after the principal's death. So, no, she should not have been able to put herself on the account as an "owner" of the account. That is self-dealing and it is a serious breach of her fiduciary duty.
You do not say whether your mother is deceased. If she is the POA is ended. But assuming what you described in your question is the entire POA, then she cannot open a separate account.
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