Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York
Both my sister and I had Power of Attorney for my mother when she was alive. My sister's Power of Attorney was put into effect in 1997. When my father passed away, my mother made a new Power of Attorney in my name in 2000. My mother is now deceased. She had Alzheimers disease.
My mother lived in Florida with my sister. I live in New York State and my mother was from New York State. Several months before my mother passed away, unknown to me, my sister closed a money market account that was solely in my mother's name and that was suppose to be part of my mother's estate.
As Power of Attorney, I asked my sister for receipts and what she did with all that money. My sister will not exactly tell me what she did with the money or send me any receipts for the money. She did at one time say that she put some of that money in a money market account in her own name.
Now my mother is passed on and I am wondering if the estate attorney can ask her for an accounting of all that money and ask her if there is any money left somewhere in an account in my sisters or her sons name. Can the estate get it back before the estate has to pay the beneficiaries which she is one of. Both me and my sister are both co-executors of the will and also beneficiaries. Her son is also a beneficiary. I know that my sister did not use that money for my mother's healthcare or anything especially for my mother. Can you please help? I want to know what she did with that money and I am sure my mother would have too. I would like that money to go back to the estate if there is anything left. Should I request the estate attorney to look into this ASAP? Can the estate attorney even do that because she is working for both of us as co-executors? I would think the estate would also want to know where that money went before it pays out money from the estate.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Where is the will being probated? FL or NY?