My Sisters Bank Won't Let her release My Inheritance To Me-Please Help.

Apart from which I do not believe that POA or deputy ship covers acting as executor. This has come up before on these boards.

Really the only option is for your sister to renounce her executorship in one of her stable periods if they occur or your other sister going through the process of having her removed as unfit to act.

unforeseen wrote: »

Apart from which I do not believe that POA or deputy ship covers acting as executor. This has come up before on these boards.

Really the only option is for your sister to renounce her executorship in one of her stable periods if they occur or your other sister going through the process of having her removed as unfit to act.

Exactly. If someone lacks capacity they cannot give a POA. In any case just because someone has been sectioned or is a voluntary patient under the Mental Health legislation does not mean they lack capacity. I am not sure the OP has accurately reported what she has been told by her solicitor or anyone else because of her lack of understanding of their advice and not by any deliberate attempt to mislead. It should also be remembered that there are other forms of POA than the LPOA. Depending on who the OP spoke to at the bank she could be confused because the member of staff may well not be fully aware of the law or the bank's own rules. If the sister has capacity all she needs to do is sign a cheque or bank mandate. Only if the executor cannot or will not act is court action appropriate.

In this particular case, is an executors' account which requires two signatures any different from another account that requires two signatures?

If you have a bank account which requires two signatures, and one of the parties has lost capacity and is being acted for by an attorney, then the PoA is (obviously) sufficient.

If you are wanting to sell a house, then a PoA is not enough: either the executor/s sign in person, or you need to get new executors.

But if the proceeds from a sale are sat in a two signature executors' bank account, does releasing money from that count as a signature on a bank account (PoA OK) or the actions of an executor (PoA not OK)?

And as a bonus question: if the proceeds are sat in an account which requires two signatures, and one of the executors is removed for other reasons and replaced while retaining capacity, does releasing the money from the account require the two signatures on the mandates, or the two signatures of the (new) executors?

I presume this sort of stuff depends on the bank's policies, and whether they were on notice or not. After all, in the case of an executors' account, the bank can't be expected to verify that the people are still executors.

I also can't help thinking that if the OP had just shut up and got her sister to sign a mandate, the bank would have had no reason to know she had potentially lost capacity, and after the money had been paid out no-one would have had any incentive to pursue the matter. This is the same as all those "if someone loses capacity joint accounts should be frozen": well yes, they should, but how would a bank know?

And of course, in order for any comeback, it would require someone to bring an action, and if all the parties were happy, then de facto, even if not de jure, it would be "no harm, no foul" - the only people with a locus to bring any action would be the people who had received/paid out the money anyway.

securityguy wrote: »

In this particular case, is an executors' account which requires two signatures any different from another account that requires two signatures?

If you have a bank account which requires two signatures, and one of the parties has lost capacity and is being acted for by an attorney, then the PoA is (obviously) sufficient.

If you are wanting to sell a house, then a PoA is not enough: either the executor/s sign in person, or you need to get new executors.

But if the proceeds from a sale are sat in a two signature executors' bank account, does releasing money from that count as a signature on a bank account (PoA OK) or the actions of an executor (PoA not OK)?

And as a bonus question: if the proceeds are sat in an account which requires two signatures, and one of the executors is removed for other reasons and replaced while retaining capacity, does releasing the money from the account require the two signatures on the mandates, or the two signatures of the (new) executors?

I presume this sort of stuff depends on the bank's policies, and whether they were on notice or not. After all, in the case of an executors' account, the bank can't be expected to verify that the people are still executors.

I also can't help thinking that if the OP had just shut up and got her sister to sign a mandate, the bank would have had no reason to know she had potentially lost capacity, and after the money had been paid out no-one would have had any incentive to pursue the matter. This is the same as all those "if someone loses capacity joint accounts should be frozen": well yes, they should, but how would a bank know?

And of course, in order for any comeback, it would require someone to bring an action, and if all the parties were happy, then de facto, even if not de jure, it would be "no harm, no foul" - the only people with a locus to bring any action would be the people who had received/paid out the money anyway.

Would have to check but I don't think an executor can give POA to another executor. You can't do it for a grant so probably applies generally. Might be and executor cannot POA at all except on the grant.
The account will be held with sisters in their legal entity as executors.

unforeseen wrote: »

POAs can only be used for the PERSONAL needs (financial, health or otherwise) of the donor.
Acting as executor is none of these.

The only exception is if there is only one executor and they are incapable of acting due to mental health problems. An enduring POA must be already in place and this will allow the attorney to act as executor. This assumes that the Court of Protection has not already appointed an executor

Sorry but you are wrong. A LPOA or EPOA only empowers the attorney to deal with the donor's personal finances and health questions. This does not include acting as an executor. It is perfectly possible for a donor with capacity to give a POA to do almost anything. They are often used where the donor is going to be unavailable for example someone selling a house might give one to allow contracts to be signed while they on a foreign trip. There seems to be no legal bar to prevent an executor giving a POA if need be. Having said that in this case there should be no need to do so as all that is required is a simple signature. The difficulty in the OP's case is to establish if the executor that is in hospital has capacity and is prepared to excercise it. If they are not then it seems the only course of action is to seek a court order to remove one, or both, executors and appoint replacement executors. Nevertheless less the OP's number one priority is to seek medical treatment.