Can a power of attorney get someone out of a house?

[krmruby]

What is the name of your state? Washington

I am going to be the power of my attorney for my father. And as a power of attorney can I legally get someone out that is living in his house (which he owns and is paid for) that does not have a lease or rental agreement if he is incapacitated? The person is only inhabiting the house.

And as a note the paperwork for me to be the power of attorney will state that I will be the power of attorney for the management, buying, and selling of any real estate he has, amongst other things.

 

[justalayman]

Who is the incapacitated one?

If it's dad, that is what a POA is for, to manage dads affairs because he cannot.

If the resident is incapacitated and dad isn't, ultimately it will be up to dad to call the shots. You cannot act adversely to dad's wishes.

 

[Dandy Don]

I think he is trying to say what will happen if DAD is incapacitated? Please explain exactly who the person is that is occupying the house--it is a live-in girlfriend that he is not married to? If it is a live-in girlfriend he needs to consult with an attorney to find out if she has any rights to any portion of his estate after he is gone, on the basis of the length of the time they were together and whether your state allows common-law marriage or not.

There may be some confusion about what the POA is supposed to accomplish. You need to be asking your father if he truly intends for you to have financial power of attorney now (the right to handle all of his finances and legal matters) or whether he just wanted you to have MEDICAL power of attorney (the right to decide whether he should be kept on life support or not if he became incapacitated)? The financial power of attorney and the medical power of attorney are 2 separate documents and he needs to make sure he is filling out the correct form for one or both, depending on which one or both he wants to use.

Other questions you need to be asking him:

Have you prepared a last will and testament? If he wants a will he needs to make sure to hire the services of an attorney to help him draft it and to make sure it meets the legal requirements of his state law.
Who is the executor? He needs to make sure he has discussed his will and his intentions with his executor.
What is the total value of the estate?
If he wants the person occupying the home to move out after his death he needs to state this in the will, and even if he does that, the executor will have to hire an eviction attorney to get the person evicted, which could take a few months to accomplish.

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA (tiekh@yahoo.com)