How do I apply to see the income and expenditure of the POA after the POA has ended?

edrussell

Hi,

I am hoping that someone can help me. My mother died in February of this year and her 3 surviving children are trying to sort out the estate. She did not leave a will. My brother held POA and now wants to be the administrator of the estate. I said that he can do that but I must see the accounts of money spent and income received by my mother during my brother’s tenure as the POA of my mother, which lasted for about 9 years.

My brother told me a few years back that he took money from my mother's bank account during the  POA. I told him to put it back. I don’t know if he did or how much was taken. I think he should account for it but he will not show me how much.

I am wondering if there is any money left at all and would like to see what income was received and what was taken out. I think I am entitled to do so but I am not sure what is the best way. I am wondering if there is a mechanism that allows me to see what happened during the POA period without openly accusing him of any crime or further offending him too much. Can someone advise and signpost what I need to do?

Thank you for your time. 

Ed

Sorry for the length of the post.

xylophone

 My brother held POA and now wants to be the administrator of the estate. 

Apply to be administrator yourself - your brother would then have to supply you with full details in to enable you to complete the forms for probate.

edrussell

Thanks Xylophone, I don't think that I can successfully apply without his consent and given that he has refused to disclose the POA  accounts I am assuming he is doing so to hide misdeeds. Although this has strained our relationship I am trying to tread carefully to give him every opportunity to avoid officialdom sorting this out. I feel that disclosure of the POA accounts would be enough to decide if I should or need to apply to be the administrator (letters of administration?). I am hoping to avoid as much conflict as possible. Is there any gentle pressure to be applied prior to an administrator compelling disclosure that you are aware of ? 

MoneySeeker1

following - as in same position

elsien

Why can you not apply as administrator without his consent?  As LPA any legal authority that he had ended with your mother's death and he should not be using that to now access any of her money. 

With regards to accessing her accounts, the best way might be to email the OPG directly and ask what the process is, if there is one. However in practice (possibly due to the workload) they tend not to review LPA spending once the person has passed, so any concerns that a donor is not acting in the person's best interests really should be raised at the time. Retrospectively, it's far too late to be of any use to them after they've passed away and it's a shame if any concerns are only really addressed when there's an inheritance on the horizon. 

Mojisola

edrussell said:

My brother held POA and now wants to be the administrator of the estate. I said that he can do that but I must see the accounts of money spent and income received by my mother during my brother’s tenure as the POA of my mother, which lasted for about 9 years.

My brother told me a few years back that he took money from my mother's bank account during the  POA. I told him to put it back. I don’t know if he did or how much was taken. I think he should account for it but he will not show me how much.

You suspect your brother of taking money from your parent while being POA and now you're happy to let him be the sole administrator of the estate?  Why?

TonyMMM

edrussell said:

I don't think that I can successfully apply without his consent 

Yes you can, and should do it straight away.

thepurplepixie

edrussell if you felt your mother was the subject of financial abuse why didn't you report that while she was alive?  It is a bit late to protect her now.