mom is gone, have wrong poa, now what?

[jc4life1]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state?ca
My mother just passed away from cancer after a 6 month battle, she waited til the last minute to ask me to handle her burial and financial business. we had a poa filled out, but didn't know that we needed a durable poa to get things in order. what we wound up getting was a "health" poa! by the time i learned that i needed a durable poa to close her bank accounts for her, she wasn't able to sign or authorize me access to her accounts. the money that she had in the bank is all she had to go towards her burial expenses and i cant get to the money. I had to take out a loan to handle the expenses of burial and now i wonder how am i going to get to the money that she intended to go towards her funeral so i can repay the loan?

dazed in ca

 

[BelizeBreeze]

Yes, you'll be like any other creditor to the estate. Just file a claim with the administrator of her estate.

 

[Dandy Don]

What is the total value of mom's estate? Find out at the county courthouse what minimum amount of estate value must be before probate is required and whether they have a separate, simplified procedure for smaller estates.

You can file to become administrator/executor of your mother's estate and soon after filing you will receive a document called letters testamentary, authorizing you with authority to claim any and all assets. Show that document to the bank and they will release the funds to you as executor/administrator.

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA (tiekh@yahoo.com)