Don't know what to do or should I do nothing?

[peppier]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NM

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NM

Just a little info, my mother put her business assets in a trust 20 years ago, her personal assets are covered in a will and I am named as the executor. This year she gave me POA and made me the Trustee. I have 2 sisters.
For 30 years all 3 of us have been signers on all of her checking, savings and CD accounts and there have been no problems.

One of my sisters has always mooched off of my mother but she would go to my mother and my mother would give her money of her own free will and it was Mother's money and she could spend it how she chose to. No big deal, I suppose she would have given money to me if I had asked.

Just recently the mooching sister accessed one of Mother's accounts on line and made a direct transfer into her own account. She didn't ask my mother, she just took it and my mother doesn't even know it because she leaves it to me to take care of all that stuff now.

Moocher told me after the fact what she had done because she knew I would see it. She gave me the sad story and I just let it pass and didn't tell Mother or my other sister who would be furious.

A few months ago Moocher coerced Mother to send Moocher's daughter money every month because she is in college. Mother then made an excuse as to why she couldn't/wouldn't do that. Mother made it clear that she didn't want to do it.

I looked online today and Moocher has transfered that money into my niece's account.

Can I do anything? She is a signer on the account. I don't even want to tell my other sister and I really hate for it to become unpleasant but I feel that I need to protect my mother too.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

 

[Isis1]

Well, if mother was adamant about the daughter not helping herself, then maybe she should do something about taking that daughter off the account. Possibly turning online assess off.

 

[peppier]

Mother won't do anything, she is 88 and stays confused and is the reason that I have POA. She does remember that she decided a few years ago not to give Moocher or her children any more money.

So as her POA I should go take her off the account? I have no doubt that Moocher would be furious and run to Mother which would just upset her and confuse her.

I just want to do what my mother would do if she had all of her wits about her and I would like to honor her wishes. I would hate to embroil her in a family fight because she gets just a little bit of what is going on and then obsesses.

We've never had any trouble before, as long as I have taken care of mother everything has been fine but as Mother gets older and frailer I see my sister getting greedier and impatient.

 

[anteater]

So as her POA I should go take her off the account?

One could argue that you are violating your fiduciary duty as your mother's agent in allowing the unauthorized gift to Moocher.

I say: Remove the authorized signer privileges of both sisters from all accounts.

 

[Kiawah]

I'd suggest providing regular status of all accounts, with cd of all the details. This lets them have trust that YOU aren't taking her money, and all is fair. They've already had access and visibility, so know the general values already.

One way to do it, is as POA change the sisters access. Another way is to clean up and consolidate accounts, and as you do that open new accounts, and close the old.

 

[latigo]

I gather that the corpus of the trust of which you are the sole trustee does not include mother’s “checking, savings and CD accounts” and that it is these financial sources that the wayward daughter has been embezzling.

If this is so, then I don’t see where you have any fiduciary responsibility with respect to them. Certainly not because you hold a POA.

However, if you do hold your mother’s power of attorney and it is written broadly enough to cover those financial accounts (like a general power), why don’t you have them all closed and reopened in your mother’s sole name? Or jointly – you and mother?

If the sister wishes to challenge your authority on the ground that the POA has lapsed because of allegations of the mother’s incompetence, let her try. But if she does so after the fact, who cares. She has no power to restore the accounts as they were.

Additionally, you should be consulting with an attorney – not only on how the losses might be recovered - but in terms of your being appointed guardian and conservator for mother.