Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Virginia

Re: Executor's power

An executor has no power until the person dies.

It is said that a living person has no heirs,

and certainly a living person has no executor,

either. A will has no meaning until death.

It sounds to me like there must be more going on

here. In order for your brother to sell your

father's house, your father would have to sign

the sales contract and attend the closing for

the sale of the house. In fact, your father

would have to sign the real estate listing

agreement.

Your brother could not sign any of these as

executor for a living person. To be executor,

one must get a court order appointing him or her

as "representative" (the Virginia name for an

executor). Without that "appointment" from the

court, an executor cannot sign any such contracts. And no one can be appointed as executor for a person who is still alive.

You should make sure your brother does not ALSO

have a power of attorney from your father.

If your father does not want to sell the house,

he can issue a new power of attorney changing

the old one, or simply issue a document

CANCELING any and all powers of attorney, and

making sure that anyone involved (such as a

realtor showing the property) KNOWS about the

change.

I don't know what your power of medical says.

However, I would think that the decision about

whether to put your father in a medical facility

or nursing home would be yours and your sisters,

together, if not your fathers alone (depending

on what the document says).

Obviously, finances may play a very big role in

this decision.

It is not uncommon for families to ignore the

official documents that actually exist. If your

father made a decision about whom he wanted to

make such decisions, your father's appointment

of various family members should be respected,

until he changes them.