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 has no means to keep up the house, pay taxes, or any other fees (utilities, as well). What the new owners might offer is to pay her rent in a nearby efficiency apartment, rent-a-room, or other for, let's say, 3 months. If they can just get her out and not make her homeless, an eviction judge may be more agreeable and the new owners can change locks and get their house ready for resale.
Whoever gets along with her the best should approach and be frank with her. House now legally belongs to X and X and she needs to find another place to live. Suggest they pay her rent for a few months, others will help her move out. If it goes the eviction route, rent money will no longer be on the table and she will have no place to live at all. Or better yet, ask her if she will take a small amount like a couple thousand dollars to move out by XX date - payment will be made on day she moves out and locks are changed. Ask a cop to be present for the move-out and the payment to her. She signs a paper accepting the payment to find a new place to live/understands if she returns to this house she is trespassing and may be arrested. Cop would be good witness for the no trespass order. If she'll take a little cash, you avoid eviction and the possibility she has no credit to rent an apartment even if you paid a couple mos rent. You can also scare her with a hint that some family members are considering criminal charges over abusing her dad financially.
If she has things she wants to keep and doesn't want any of you to have them (items from brother/family), then pay first month storage rent for her. She pays future rent or loses it all. You could put your name/contact on the storage when rented. If she doesn't pay, they call you, you go retrieve what you want and dispose of the rest.
This will cost the new owners a little money, but in the end it will probably be cheaper than hiring atty, going to eviction court, and be much quicker so they can recover the bigger money from sale of house.
Please contact a lawyer who either specializes in estates (preferable) or family law. Your situation is a cautionary tale of making sure to give POA only to totally reliable person.
You might consider contacting one of those companies that will inspect the home, give an estimate of value, and pay on the spot. The company will then do all the remodeling and sell it. Also contact a business that will pay to haul away all furnishings in the home. Just make sure to take out any valuables that family members want to keep. The new owners should have access to their home, even with POA daughter living in it.
Do you have any idea how easy it is for a POA (that was appointed by the person not the court), to get around prosecution like you're talking about?
The daughter was appointed POA by her father. Not by the court. So her father was the boss of how his money was being spent so she would have been answering to him, not the court.
If he had no problems with how his money was being handled for six years before his death, then it's no one's business. No court or police are going to intervene and prosecute a deceased person's child (who was appointed by them as POA) on behalf of greedy adult siblings who don't think they're inheriting enough of their brother's property. That's not gonna happen. Nor should it ever happen.
Property taxes are not the obligation of the siblings; they are the obligation of the estate. Again, not a lawyer and don't know the laws of your state but until the courts are functioning again I doubt the county/city can foreclose for non-payment of taxes. Call the tax authority and explain that the estate is in limbo due to suspension of activity by the courts and ask their advice.
Other than that, all you can tell the siblings is they have to wait for the probate process to play out....and it can be months/years, especially if anyone challenges the will.
Lesson to be learned here: avoid the probate process at all costs. Put assets into a trust with a trustee to take care of things. Make sure bank accounts are joint with someone (the trustee) you can trust; when the joint owner dies the accounts go to the other joint owner(s) simply upon production of the death certificate to the bank. Or, with life insurance or IRA's, designate a beneficiary; this will bypass the probate process unless, of course, someone challenges the designation (for example, if a relative claims the person so designating was not in their right mind when they made the designation; but then they would have to go to court to initiate the challenge).
All this information is out there if you take the time to do the research.
Now If your renting or have a mortgage, those were placed on a “moratorium” on a National / federal level due to Covid. Mortgages regulated under federal statutes. For renters it was a CDC order / declaration that renters cannot be evicted due to health concerns but that directive just expired so states r allowing evictions to be filed. The rental $ from ARP still in process of going out as it been only 5-6 weeks so renters don’t have rent $ yet. Unless your city has a program to do rental assistance to “bridge” till AMR $ flows in, you’re getting evicted.
Property tax laws determine by states, so unless your state legislators want to suspend or cancel taxes due to Covid, taxes still due. The local collector can wave fees or late charges, but the tax required is state law. There’s only so much collectors can do. IMHO gonna be a bloodbath for property tax liens & sales for 2021, 2022.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Force her out. This is a criminal matter.
Then carry on with your wishes such as selling the home, etc.
I am so sorry that you are in this situation.
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.