Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New Jersey
Power of attorney before estate becomes an entity
Before my mother died she was very sick and gave power of attorney to my
sister. Mother passed 5 years ago and I have not seen any of the accounting
dealing with the monies my sister used from my mothers checking account
beford she died. I beleive she had about 100K to play with. How do I find out
where this money went. So, I would like to find out if this is feasible and or
reasonable to ask for. The accounting of my mothers checking accounts
before she died by my sister her power of attorney. Thank you a bunch.
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Power of attorney before estate becomes an entity
There are a number of issues raised by your inquiry. At the outset, given the large amount of money involved, I would strongly advise you to immediately seek the advice of an attorney in order to assist you.
However--the first issue here is whether your mother was competent at the time power of attorney was granted to your sister. If she was so ill as to be incompetent, the power of attorney may be ruled to be invalid.
The second issue is whether, during your mother's lifetime, your sister improperly used the power of attorney (i.e. taking your mother's money for your sister's own purposes rather than using it properly for the benefit of your mother).
The third issue is whether your mother died with a Last Will and Testament, or without one (i.e. "intestate".) If she left a will, then the proceeds of your mother's estate should have been distributed according to that will (i.e. the stated wishes expressed by your mother in her will). If there was no will, the estate should have been distributed to the heirs according to applicable statutory law.
In all cases, as a child, you are considered an "interested party", and should have received notice of the estate proceedings from the executor or personal representative of your mother's estate.
The fact that you have heard nothing for five years clearly implies that your mother's estate may have been handled incorrectly, if not fraudulently.
In order to investigate further, you need to go to the Register of Wills or Probate Office in the county where your mother resided at the time of her death, to see if a probate file was opened. If so, all records of what were done should be in that probate file, and you should be able to reivew it. Again, in order to properly do this, you definitely need an attorney; and you certainly need an attorney if you think that any mistakes were made, or in fact, to help you decide whether anything was done improperly.
I have done this type of work and would be happy to speak with you about being retained for your case.
Please contact me at: 973-605-8995 to discuss this matter or any other legal issue you need to discuss.
Alan S. Albin, Esq.
42 Court St., No. 4
Morristown, NJ 07960
Re: Power of attorney before estate becomes an entity
Why did you wait over five years to make this an issue?
Unless there was some kind of fraud committed (difficult to prove) I don't think you have much of a case.
Re: Power of attorney before estate becomes an entity
You do not say if your mother left a will, if it was probated, who was appointed to act under it, what happened in the probate, where there any other assets or what happened to them? These answers may have a bearing on your current question. In any event, if you are not barred by any Statute of Limitations, you could sue for an accounting from your sister. With the passage of time, I don't expect that you will get many good answers, but you should see if you were entitled to any portion of the funds she handled. If you are not time barred, she owes you a fiduciary duty to account for the funds.
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