Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania

First - a person can act under the power of attorney only during the parent's lifetime. After the parent dies, only the executor of the estate may act.

So long as they act properly in distributing money and other property in the estate, they are not personally responsible for the parent's debt. They have to determine what all of the debts are before distributing estate assets so that the assets may be paid in the priority that they should be. Creditors of debts that will not be able to be paid should be notified.

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.

A power of attorney ends at death, so no one can have a power of attorney over a dead person's estate. Once a person dies, an estate may need to be probated and if there is a will, the person named in the will as executor takes charge. If there is no will, then any living person can apply to the court to be the administrator for the dead person's estate.

The job of the executor/administrator is to find out what the dead person owned and what he/she owed. Things like a house or car or other valuable (like a work of art) may have to be sold. If there is enough money, then all creditors are paid. If there is not enough money, then claims are paid in order of priority as established by state law. The creditors are given notice to file their claims.

Since you have questions, I recommend that you pay a probate attorney for 30-60 minutes of his/her time so that they attorney can more specifically advise you of your rights and responsibilities. Get an attorney in the county/state where the dead person lived prior to his/her death.

If no estate has been probated and there are not even assets in the estate, probate may not be necessary, but you need to confirm that with an attorney or the clerk of the probate court. If that is the case, then I suggest writing a letter to the creditor and send it via certified mail or some other means that you can track it and prove their receipt. In the letter, indicate that you were power of attorney, but that the person has now died and that probate of the estate is not justified. Explain that the person had no assets and that there is nothing for the creditor. Send a copy of the death certificate.

Assuming that everything for the person was managed properly during his/her life and after his/her death, the agent or executor/administrator is not personally liable unless that person agreed to be personally responsible for the debt. This tyypically arises where a child signs a parent into a nursing home, so if this was done in your case, carefully review any documents to make sure that you did not assume personal liability for the debt.