Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Oregon
Power of attorney
If one person is named as executor of anothers will, and some one else is given power of attorney to same party, who becomes the legal executor of the estate?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Power of attorney
A person who is named in a power of attorney-document does not need to be the same person who is named as an executor to that person's estate. In any event, the person who is named as a power of attorney can no longer act under that power of attorney upon the death of the decedent. This is because the power of attorney is only valid during one's lifetime. After the decedent's death, the executor of the estate can take over (after that executor successfully files a petition to open probate.)
Re: Power of attorney
These two positions do not overlap. The power of attorney is only valid while the person is alive. The power of attorney's right to act ends upon death. The executor's duties only arise after the person's death.