Legal Question in Real Estate Law in New York
Our father signed a POA to one of his sons who used it to change the ownership of our father's house to a family trust just a few weeks BEFORE our father passed away but the POA and new deed were not recorded with the county register until a few weeks AFTER our father passed away.
I know that powers of attorney do not survive death so my question revolves around whether this transaction would be legal or not. I can see the argument for why it would be legal because the title transfer and new deed were executed while the power of attorney principal was still alive but the confusion is around using a POA after the principal has passed - in other words filing it at the same time as the new deed with the county register which I think is standard for real estate transactions in New York.
1. Is this filing (after the demise of the principal) a legal use of a POA?
2. Was the transfer of our father's house from our father to the trust finalized when the deed was created or not until the deed is recorded? It seems to me that if the transfer is not final until the deed is recorded, then using the POA at that point (after the demise of the principal) would be illegal?
1 Answer from Attorneys
The PoA wasn't used to record the deed so I don't think you have a leg to stand on with this argument. I'd like to take a closer look at the transaction itself to find flaws in the transfer.
Good luck.
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