POA to see will?

weezie7

Mojisolo - thanks for the info, will let my sister know all of that, useful. Thank you.

lisa110rry

As I understand it (and it's something that has come up in my immmediate family, though the POA was given to a person outside the family). The POA means the holder must act in the best interests of the principal and fails on the death of the principal. Surely it would be in StepMum's best interests for you to know the will contents so that you can manage her affairs at this time. You would then know how best to do so, in case the will provisions allow for "the contents of this account to go to A" and "the contents of that account to go to B". I would say it is important to be prepared at this time and you have the right as you have POA and, notwithstanding any concern about the Accountant, you are doing the right thing (not that you may be able to change anything but forewarned is forearmed).

weezie7

Thanks for all the replies and reassurance!


Solicitor has been asked for will....... waiting response!

weezie7

Solicitor has not yet responded re will issue, how long is reasonable to wait? (They aren't on holiday!) They have responded to another matter though! Gentle phone message this time.........

weezie7

lisa110rry - Thanks for that, interesting...... I have a slightly different take on it, as to what 'best interests' are... there is not likely to be any idea of 'deprivation of assets'.....

weezie7

g6jns - sorry, previous reply was to you!

g6jns_2

weezie7 wrote: »

g6jns - sorry, previous reply was to you!

Thanks. My feeling is still that the solicitor is bound to respect their client's confidentiality and not disclose the contents. To do so might give the attorney the opportunity to manipulate the accounts to effectively change the effect of the will. I am not suggesting that this would be the case but the solicitor would be subject to action if they did disclose. Remember that the attorney is intended to handle the donee's assets in their best interests. I don't believe that power extends to deciding what any potential beneficiaries might receive. POAs do not allow the attorney to change wills directly so they should not be allowed the opportunity to do so indirectly.

nom_de_plume

weezie7 wrote: »

Question is: can sister ask to see will, as she wants to be prepared for it?

Being prepared is unlikely to be good enough reason to see a will. BobQ's suggestion of asking the solicitor if certain actions could have a bearing on the will may be valid.

I can recall a very real case where the holder of a POA was planning on selling a property that the testator would never be returning to. The will bequested that property to one individual. Selling it would have removed it from the estate and even if the full value of the property had still existed within the estate it would have fallen into the residuary and gone completely elsewhere to where it was intended.

G6JNS

nom_de_plume wrote: »

Being prepared is unlikely to be good enough reason to see a will. BobQ's suggestion of asking the solicitor if certain actions could have a bearing on the will may be valid.

I can recall a very real case where the holder of a POA was planning on selling a property that the testator would never be returning to. The will bequested that property to one individual. Selling it would have removed it from the estate and even if the full value of the property had still existed within the estate it would have fallen into the residuary and gone completely elsewhere to where it was intended.

I don't think the solicitor would be allowed to disclose anything. The only reason for asking such questions would be that the attorney wanted to manipulate the intention of the will. That would be a gross breach of trust and the terms that the attorney's powers.

Mojisola

G6JNS wrote: »

The only reason for asking such questions would be that the attorney wanted to manipulate the intention of the will.

Not the only reason - the attorney could be trying to make sure that the donor's wishes will be fulfilled.

As Dad's attorney, I acted as him, including having to make the decision whether he would be resuscitated if the situation arose.

I already had a copy of his will but it would be strange if I could decide whether he lived or died but couldn't make sure that his wishes in his will could be complied with.

If I had sold his house and got rid of his possessions before he died, only to find that he had left specific items to people in his will, I would have been very upset. If an attorney can be trusted to manage every minute part of someone's affairs, they can be trusted to see the will.

If they misused their position to divert money so that they gained from the will, that could be challenged in court because they would have been using their powers for their own interest and not the donor's.