I am executor of my brother's estate, who for the last six years before his death, had assigned his eldest daughter POA over the family home and two rental properties and the management of payments to for all his assisted living and all other financial affairs. Before anyone knew she had squandered all his savings and the proceeds from the sale of two of his rental properties on her gambling addiction and now she has moved into the family residence which was left to two siblings in the will. The siblings are in desperate need of money and want to sell the family house which is now owned by them exclusively (left to them in the will) but the errant ex POA daughter will not move out and the courts are not performing evictions due to covid etc. The siblings cannot obtain access to prepare the house to sell and are having to borrow money to pay the property taxes etc.
The extended family has decided against filing charges of elder abuse as they don't want to see her go to jail even though everyone is highly incensesd.
The errant ex POA daughter has no apparent income or means of support and will likely become homeless as no one in the family will now take her in.
What suggestions or advice can I give to the siblings ?
She won't necessarily end up incarcerated. Often, in cases such as this, instead of jail, the person is offered a period of probation, and is ordered to make restitution; she will also probably be ordered to go to Gamblers' Anonymous (or some such program), which may or may not help her in the long run. Even if she never has the the ability to pay back in full, the courts can garnish any future earnings she makes to at least give something back to the estate.
I would also think leveling charges will make getting her out of the house much, much easier. Remember, the moratorium against evictions is for non-payment of rent; I believe the courts are (virtually) starting to hear other eviction cases that aren't due to non-payment - as is the case here (owners of the home wanting to sell the property).
That she has behaved in such a manner that "she will become homeless" - as harsh as this may sound, it is on her that she has burned her bridges with her behavior; if her family allow this to continue, they might all end up in serious financial distress, and then they may all find themselves in that situation.
Tell them to call the police and start the process. If she abused her position as POA and stole from the estate, she should be held accountable.
It’s a whole different situation than what an eviction would be.
Sissy might have had an agreement with Dad & been a tenant of her Dads but he is deceased so that agreement & relationship doesn’t exist anymore.
This is more, in my experience, sheriffs Dept action than the police. I’d suggest that you approach both sheriffs office AND start to find a very experienced Realtor who is used to dealing with difficult properties. I would not have your sibling try to FSBO the house, they need a Realtor who will deal with the property and the Realtor will know of a no BS property management group that will look after the property & often. Yes it will cost but $ can all be paid from the Act of Sale proceeds. To me, your gonna have to get outsiders involved as y’all were flat not willing to get tough with her in the past & she knows that you have no spine.
I would not hesitate in getting this going cause sounds like she’s a bad addict & if she’s that AND mean spirited, I’d be concerned she can find a shady house flipper & they can craft paperwork to “own” the property via an LLC and then flip it to another scumbag LLC.
I just looked up squatters rights in our state.
This does shed new light on the situation.
I went to Attorney General, local Police and multiple lawyers and ALL said it is a civil case and that he committed no crime that the government can go after him for. We cannot bring criminal charges against him only the government can do that.
We can sue him in civil court which would cost us thousands with no guarantee that he would pay the judgement anyways.
The system is in the favor of those that commit these obvious criminal acts but leave the victims to fend for themselves.
Change the locks when the tent comes off, call the police to meet her when she comes back, and voila -- problem solved.
I too think she should be brought up on charges. I would also see what can be done about her being evicted since there are new owners of the house.
If she was a stranger who had robbed your family you would not hesitate to press charges.
It may also help the eviction process to have her in jail.
The money's gone and not recoverable, so the best thing is to prosecute and not spend another dime on her if possible.
if she brakes in call the Police.
Or
Send a Certified letter to the daughter that she has 30 days to Move Out and if she hasn't, File an Eviction as she is not a Tenant and doesn't have a Lease..
I am a Landlord and if my Tenant's Lease is up, you can evict them as you don't have to renew a lease and you can tell them it's being renovated to be sold.
Also, you are not asking for Rent, you are only asking for Possession of the home.
In Missouri City Texas it only cost $126 and you can pick up the papers to fill out at the Court House in the area by the home.
The Judge will give you the Judgement.
also let her know that ya'll will Turn Her In for misuse of handling her fathers money if she isn't out of the house within 30 days.
If she has Insurance, she should check herself into a place for mental help.