Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania

It would be very unusual for the person holding a power of attorney to be able to change a will, if one exists. If she is no longer living, your power of attorney is no longer valid.

If she has no will, PA intestate law governs how her estate should be administered and who would be her legal heirs.

If she is still alive, she should be consulting a lawyer about her Will, the Power of Attorney and any other issues. You should not be part of that conversation.

THIS RESPONSE IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE, SINCE I DO NOT HAVE ALL OF THE INFORMATION THAT WOULD BE REQUIRED, AND I DO NOT HAVE A REPRESENTATION AGREEMENT WITH YOU.

* If the answers to your question confirm that you have a valid issue or worthwhile claim, your next step should almost always be to establish a dialog with a lawyer who can provide specific advice to you. Contact a lawyer in your county or township.

* Another reason for contacting a lawyer is that it is often impossible to give a good answer in the Internet Q&A format without having more information. The unique circumstances of your situation and things that you may not have thought to mention in your question may completely change the answer. If you want to be sure that you have a complete answer to your question and an understanding of what that answer means, establish a connection with a lawyer who practices in the area of your concern.

Absolutely not. You cannot appoint yourself as anything. First, is your aunt alive or dead? If your aunt is alive, you can continue to serve as her power of attorney. Is she mentally competent? If so, she can always make a new will. However, if you are the agent under a power of attorney, I would be leery of this - while the standard for mental capacity to make a will is fairly low, if your aunt needs an agent to handle her financial and/or health care decisions, then she probably does not have the mental capacity to make a will.

If your aunt is deceased, then your duties as agent under a power of attorney are at an end. Your only duty is to provide a final accounting to the personal representative of your aunt's estate.

If your aunt had a will copies can be probated but there are hoops that you have to go through. First, is this just a copy or does the copy include her signature? What happened to the will? Has a diligent search been conducted? Was the will drafted by an attorney? Have you contacted the attorney to see if he retained an original? Did your aunt have a safe or safe deposit box? Was the original merely lost or was it destroyed?

Depending on what you find out, if your aunt is deceased and if the copy names you as the executor, I would consult with a probate attorney in the county/state where your aunt lived at the time of her death and see whether the copy can be probated. If not, then anyone can apply for probate, if your aunt is deemed to have died without a will, the preference would be given to her spouse or children. If none, then usually this would fall to the next of kin.

My question would be to ascertain who your aunt's heirs would be if there was no will and to figure out what your aunt owned that would be subject to probate. If you would stand to inherit as much or more under the intestacy law, then you may not want to go through the extra expense of trying to probate a copy of the will.