Power Of Attorney Question - We Feel Robbed! Do We Have Any Recourse? - URGENT!!!

Q: During and since the divorce to my father's recent death, my eldest brother would not allow any other family member near my father for fear that he may lose control of my father. He was also able to get my father to give him Power of Attorney. My guess is that he was probably able to get my father to draw up the Will in his favor. Again, my father is practically illiterate and is not aware of legal matters at all. Since the eldest son has POA, does that mean that he can take everything that belonged to my father leaving nothing for other family members (which I believe to be his intentions)? Is there anything that can be done about this extreme abuse of power?

A: Depends on what the POA says, like exactly, and whether it is valid at all given the state of mind of your father when he signed it. you can stop whining on usenet, and get of your ass and retain YOUR OWN ATTORNEY immediately to represent you, your mother and other siblings in this matter. The person who has the power of attorney for another can make any decision they want to for that person, within the limits granted in

the power of attorney document. You still may have some recourse. It appears that your father was acting irrationally during the time when he signed this document. You may be able to argue in court that your father was not mentally sound when he signed the POA, so it should be invalidated by the court. You will need a family lawyer to pursue this action. The "standard" power of attorney form does not allow the attorney-in-fact to give himself more than the annual gift tax exclusion. I don't know whether that is a requirement in law, or not, but both stationery store forms and a durable POA drawn up so that my wife could take care of her mother's affairs has that provision.