Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Power of attorney question

Ok I know this isn’t a legal forum just curious if any one on here is a POA for Financials as I have a question
And I am asking lawyer as well
As POA for my mother I have a sibling who I haven’t and won’t talk to for over 2 years probly ever will again long story for another time and trust me I have asked myself over and no regrets
So with that said my mother is In assisted living woth demintia
And I’m thinking of selling her house while it still has some value. I know houses sitting empty deteriorate quickly, so can I sell it or do I need to inform my sibling of this ? She doesn’t want it and lives 2 hours away
Thanks

You can sell it as long as it's deeded in your mother's name, and you have legal power of atty for her.

No need to notify your sister.

You are still accountable to her estate though. POA's have a large responsibility that is often overlooked.

What do u mean accountable to her eatate? And I feel the responsibility wow

And I am also health care POA and wow the stress the decisions

You're the POA........

been there done that.....recently

Hello IA fog

First I'm not a lawyer but have been involved with POA with my mother, who passed away 3 years ago tomorrow.

With dementia it's a difficult time. My prayers for you.

Regarding sale of her house, here in Louisiana ( which operates under Napoleonic code, sometimes different than English,common law), I had the ability to sell her house at my discretion. Fortunately my sister and I are close so no issues.

With legal advice from your lawyer, and the laws of your state, it may be possible to exercise your POA , and sell the house.

Again, only if your lawyer confirms.
If I had the choice, and legal ability, I would sell, then after the fact, inform your sister. It won't make things easier, but just close the loop.

I wish you the best in this difficult time.

Charles

Went through that with my mother. It gets really complicated if Medicare is involved. I never consulted my brother on anything that went on, but we put all proceeds in an account for her care. Meticulous record keeping is a must as Medicare/Medicaid has a 5 year claw back on assets transferred. If she has a life insurance policy they will come after that too. All records must be kept 10 years.

That means, at least in part, that when Mom dies, you are responsible for evenly dividing the estate with your sister unless there's a will that says otherwise.

I meant that you are not having to consult your sister with the sale, but may have to account for the sale proceeds if it involves your sister after your mom passes.

We are also going through this with my in-laws. Went through it with my grandfather and had POA over his affairs as well.

That depends if he's executor of her will or not. Power of attorney ends at death. He has to preserve the estate and turn everything over to the executor if he isn't.

Your questions would probably be answered by a *real* lawyer, probably for free.

I ran my mom and dad's affairs for several years under a POA.

One thing to consider: Her estate will pay taxes on the difference between what she paid for the property, and what it sells for. That may or may not be a lot. If you sell after she passes, the taxes will be on the difference between the value at her death and the price it sells for.

I faced the same thing, and hired a property manager who rented the property out. That way, it was producing a little income and was being kept up.

Dealt with the same exact situation with my mom. You can sell the house as her POA unless your POA states otherwise. The form used in TX has powers itemized in a list where the principal (mom) must initialize or omit each power, or initialize "all of the above" on it. That form may be different in your state but the POA document should state which powers you have. The POA dies when your mom does. If your mother has no will, you should attend to that before she passes while your POA still allows you to do so.

Right.

That said, I recommend selling it all, putting it all in her checking/saving account and make sure you have survivorship on that account.

Too late for that. She has dementia.

A POA does not empower another person whatsoever to draft a will for the person they have POA for.

A will doesn't have to be drafted. See ltppowell's post. The main thing is to avoid probate.

As you have said you are doing, contact an estate attorney. That attorney will tell you that your POA ends the second your Mother passes. So unless you are the executor as well, as the POA you have a Fiduciary Responsibility to act in the best interests of the estate. You can sell the house in most states and most likely, you have the responsibility to sell it if you feel that is the best way to protect your Mothers estates and assets. I'm sure your attorney will tell you that. Mine explained it clearly to me. Thank goodness all of my siblings get along and all agreed with the decisions to sell everything. But the truth is, as the POA of your Mothers estate, all decisions are yours to make. BTW...all the accountability is yours as well. Just do the right thing for the benefit of the estate and your Mom, and you should have no problem. Good luck and we're all sorry you are having to deal with this.

That needs to be put a little better.

If her estate is worth less than $14 million when she passes, the house can be sold tax-free because the 'basis' for gain or loss will be the Fair Market Value on the date of her death.

If she (or you, via POA) sell it now it will be taxable if it sells for more than $250.000 more than her basis. The first $250,000 of profit on the sale of a qualifying residence sold by an individual is not not taxed.

If she lived in the home a long time, her basis is likely to be different than what she paid for it (price plus closing costs). She may have made substantial improvements that would be added to basis such as adding AC, building a garage, paving a gravel driveway... Also, if your parents owned it jointly and your father passed away, half of her basis is half of the cost and the other half of her basis is half of the FMV when your father passed away because she inherited his half - this may vary in comunity property states, I don't deal with them very much.

I think in your case you need more than an power of attorney, if it were me, and it was, I would get a guardian conservatorship. That will put you in full control.

I would say that while you should think about the estate, which doesn't exist yet as your mother is alive, you have no fiduciary responsibility to it. You have a fiduciary responsibility to your mother, while the two are not exclusive, they are not necessarily the same either.

If you operate within the enumerated powers in that document, you can do anything your mother could do for herself exercising those powers if she were able. Mostly, you have to (read should) do the best you can for your mother. Based on your previous responses, I believe you are well aware of that.

Best wishes for a decent outcome.

KC