Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York

Re: power of attorney duties

The holder of a power of attorney, called attorney in fact, is required to carry out the wishes of the party who granted the power. Any form of self enrichment by the attorney in fact is subject to close scrutiny.

In intestacy the estate is to be distributed in accordance with the pertinent statute.

The lawyer, or even the District Attorney, should be informed of this conduct.

Re: power of attorney duties

Unless the POA was the sole heir under the laws of intestacy he was not entitled to transfer the funds. In fact a POA is invalid upon the death of the grantor.

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Re: power of attorney duties

I agree with both Steve and Norman. If you correctly described the position (holder of Power of Attorney only), unless this person was the closest living relative, his duties terminated on the death of your aunt, as the power terminates on death. Without knowing what the Power authorized and stated, he has a fiduciary responsibility both to the grantor of the power and the people it might benefit, if other than himself. This would include the obligation to account to legal heirs for everything he did. Unless he was the sole heir, he could not transfer her assets to himself. The closest living heir (and there might be more than one) would be entitled to become administrator of your aunt's estate, and has many obligations under the probate laws and the laws of intestacy; again including the requirement to account to everyone who might be entitled to a share of the estate. First, I need more information to accurately determine if what he did was proper or actionable. You, if you suspect he acted improperly, should promptly contact a local attorney familiar with probate and intestacy matters to review the situation and determine if any litigation is warranted, then initiate it, if required.