Dad died , sister has power of attorney and now it all begins ....

susanne1964

Registered User
Mar 1, 2010
291
0
hertfordshire
Hello all,
My dad finally gave up on the 27th July2018.. Now the arguments are starting, from where he is being cremated , to what food, to others arguing about who should be there !!!!!!
I am staying out of it , it's to distressing...
Now we have a question of the will ! I was there with the solicitor when he was copus mentos, he split what was left between the five of us... He actually gave us money before he got ill, so I think we have had enough .... My older sister is power of attorney and is saying that she will decide who gets what !!!!!
Surely what dad stated in his will should be legal and binding ? , can she go against his wishes ?
God I hate death
 

nitram

Registered User
Apr 6, 2011
30,081
0
Bury
Power of attorney ceases on death of the donor.

It is up to the executors to see that your late dad's wishes as expressed in his will are followed.
 

canary

Registered User
Feb 25, 2014
25,018
0
South coast
Your sister is wrong - POA ends with death, so her POA counts for nothing anymore.
After a death its the will that counts and should be distributed as intructed by the executors
 

susanne1964

Registered User
Mar 1, 2010
291
0
hertfordshire
Thank you Canary, he left a little to the grandchildren , that is what I am asking. The others are saying they should take it and distribute amongst individual families ... At the moment my family are bloody hypocrites
 

Duggies-girl

Registered User
Sep 6, 2017
3,620
0
Another question ? His will is with the solicitor so is it he who contributes to the grandchildren. He has names, addresses etc
X

Depends on who the executor is. It may be the solicitor or it may be a named person. You will have to ask the solicitor. Whoever it is they have to follow the wishes of the deceased. Poa is now irrelevant and can be shredded. Tell them that.
 

canary

Registered User
Feb 25, 2014
25,018
0
South coast
The executors should be named in the will. Mum made my brother and I executors in her will, but other people appoint a solicitor - you will have to see what the will says.
BTW, although My brother and I were made executors, he signed a form to say he did not want to be involved (I cant remember the legal term). If you are an executor you can also appoint a solicitor to do the work for you (check on the price first if you want to go down this route)
 

Kevinl

Registered User
Aug 24, 2013
6,064
0
Salford
Don't you just envy only children when "stuff" like this happens? As has been said the POA ends when the person passes away and right now isn't worth the paper it's written on, should she continue to try and use it there could be consequences for her, any money withdrawn or spent could be regarded as theft, the POA is in the bin.
All his affairs have now passed to the executors of his will who are legally obliged to follw the will as it is set out.
Frankly you sister is an idiot saying she decides who gets what and could find herself in serious trouble if she tries to interfere with the legal execution of the will using a now revoked POA.
K
 

susanne1964

Registered User
Mar 1, 2010
291
0
hertfordshire
Thank you everyone,,it's such a stressful time, for gods sake he is not even cremated yet and they are flipping arguing.... wish they argued over his care so bloody much xx
 

love.dad.but..

Registered User
Jan 16, 2014
4,962
0
Kent
I am so sorry you are having to deal with this. Your sister is a twit! If she is not executor named in the will then she plays no further part legally in handling your father's estate other than accepting any gift monetary or otherwise that has been bequeathed to her. The executor(s) named will carry out the instructions your father has set out in his will. Poa ceases on death of the donor...your dad. if the value of his estate is over a certain amount and the executor has to deal with banks then probate will have to be applied for and other than funeral expenses which can be paid from the deceased account the estate will not be distributed until probate or grant of representation may be needed instead if a small value estate is involved.

Sometimes the behaviour attitude and sense of entitlement shown by some is astonishing
 

love.dad.but..

Registered User
Jan 16, 2014
4,962
0
Kent
Also your sister is obliged to contact the OPG and return the original copies and any certified copies of the power of attorney documents so they can cancelled from the register. The originals will be returned to her but with cancelled stamped.
 

Tin

Registered User
May 18, 2014
4,820
0
UK
My god she may be a twit, but a clever one, seems she has everyone convinced that she still has the power to make all the decisions.
 

Kevinl

Registered User
Aug 24, 2013
6,064
0
Salford
My god she may be a twit, but a clever one, seems she has everyone convinced that she still has the power to make all the decisions.
Well, not that clever, if any financial transactions take place after your dad died then she could be prosecuted and in a lot of jobs a pending or possible prosecution for fraud might be a bit of "an impediment to her career" shall we say.
As an LPA she has to inform the COP and as lovedadbut says return the documents as on the link below.
K

https://www.gov.uk/lasting-power-attorney-duties/stop-attorney
 

Duggies-girl

Registered User
Sep 6, 2017
3,620
0
Oh my goodness I am dreading all of this. My dad is unlikely to last til Christmas. I have cared for him for over a year now with help only from my husband and I just know that sibling is waiting for the end and will be there in a flash.

I hate family arguments but I know they will be coming.

Your sister is an idiot and has no say in the distribution of your dad's money, assets or anything.

Families who would have them. Put her straight on this.
 

malengwa

Registered User
Jan 26, 2017
258
0
Sorry to hear this, death has a habit of bringing out the absolute worst in families especially where money is involved. When mum died, we had some arguments, blaming etc etc, but I put this down to grief.
Who is the executor? We did actually change mums will, it wasn't difficult but required executor paperwork and permission from the main beneficiary (ie dad). Basically he wanted to give the great grandchildren something as they were not born when the will was made. It was advised to change the will rather than him gift the money after he had received it.
It might be better if you are executor to appoint a soliciter if you can afford to. If you are not, the do you trust them to do the right thing?
 

Duggies-girl

Registered User
Sep 6, 2017
3,620
0
I think what @malengwa is referring to is a Deed of Variation whereby a beneficiary is able to pass on all or part of their inheritance to someone else, a child or a grandchild perhaps. There are rules to this and it must be done before the beneficiary accepts their inheritance then it is not treated as a gift for tax purposes.

Well off people often use this to avoid future inheritance tax and I believe that it is quite a simple thing to do. Google it and you will see.

Only beneficiaries can decide to do this themselves though. Nobody can be told what they should or should not do and if there is more than one beneficiary then each beneficiary chooses exactly what they wish to do with their inheritance and if they wish to keep it or not is entirely up to them.
 

Slugsta

Registered User
Aug 25, 2015
2,758
0
South coast of England
Susanne, I am sorry for your loss - and that your family are squabbling over the will :(

This was the only time I was glad of being an only, at least I didn't have anyone to argue with me about Mum's funeral arrangements and/or will!
 

Marnie63

Registered User
Dec 26, 2015
1,637
0
Hampshire
Don't you just envy only children when "stuff" like this happens? As has been said the POA ends when the person passes away and right now isn't worth the paper it's written on, should she continue to try and use it there could be consequences for her, any money withdrawn or spent could be regarded as theft, the POA is in the bin.
All his affairs have now passed to the executors of his will who are legally obliged to follw the will as it is set out.
Frankly you sister is an idiot saying she decides who gets what and could find herself in serious trouble if she tries to interfere with the legal execution of the will using a now revoked POA.
K

I used to get quite irked when you made comments like that about only children @Kevinl, but threads like this make me realise I am lucky, in a way, that it's only me!

I'm sorry for your loss Susanne, and sorry you are having to deal with these issues. Hopefully once you know who the executor(s) is/are, things will be clearer. Take care.
 

susanne1964

Registered User
Mar 1, 2010
291
0
hertfordshire
Yet again thank you all so much ....X .. As far as I am aware dad just made a will, I have a copy and so does the solicitor. Thinking about it I remember sending a copy to my sister when she applied for POA.. This sounds awful but I am staying out of it. They can battle between them for what little money he has left. We had so much when he was able to gift it. ( thousands each), they can squabble over the rest ....I just want to get the funeral done , I guess then there will be a argument over where to spread the ashes.... X
 

Staff online

Forum statistics

Threads
138,152
Messages
1,993,490
Members
89,813
Latest member
Sharonmatthews1976