Hmmmmmmm... a few different things here ..... sorry you're in this situation, Remember Me, but thanks for bringing this up .....
That you have thought to change the locks suggests your relationship with your sister is not ideal ..... so this thinking may not be of any use ..... however, for what it's worth .... how about applauding her for being so thoughtful as to take care of certain valuables whilst your mother was in hospital? (presumably leaving the property unoccupied (?), which then allows you to raise the matter on a practical level like insurance issues .... specific high value items etc) ... and perhaps you ought to consider some kind of informal 'inventory' ... ????
Perhaps sometimes the way to 'crush your enemy' is to refuse to fight - floors them completely!!!!!
Kriss, thank you - I had never thought of EPA as extending to 'giving away' of anything other than 'cash' assets ..... I know I have already 'rescued' some items for safekeeping (like mum's wedding album I discovered just in time she was quite happy to donate to her bin!!!
) when I realised her generosity had lost all concept of boundaries .... (as too her lack of understanding of 'sentimental value' it seems).
One other thought .... my mum has lots of 'knick-knacks' - most of them not particualrly valuable - but over the years she has always made it clear who gave them to her/who she would want to have them when she could no longer enjoy them ... a bit morbid in her thinking perhaps ... but it helps me now have a sense of 'doing right by her' whenever that time comes...... and I would be able to challenge anyone who saw otherwise - with conviction - on the grounds it is what my mother (rather than just me) would decide or want ......
Good luck, Remember Me... hope some of that ramble helps ..... let us know how it goes...
Love, Karen, x