Personal risk in assuming Power of Attorney Florida, United States: Following my father's passing I am being asked to take on Power of Attorney for my mother whose cognitive function is in decline. This is something I really don't want to do, because for one I live on the other side of the country and second my relationship with my parents was not a particularly loving one. But, in any case, what came of the chaos after my father's passing was me performing many of the tasks that having POA would entail anyway: managing her affairs &amp; finances, etc out of simple necessity and because she wants me to. I am worried as to what kind of personal exposure to risk agreeing to legally being POA would carry and what happens if I simply decline. That is, if my mom is sued by somebody for some reason, does that mean I am being sued, and my personal assets are at risk, rather than just hers'? And, what if she runs out of money, would I be personally financially liable for covering her expenses? I mean I would help of course but I am not a man of means and I couldn't possibly cover her costs without cashing out my own retirement savings and I don't want to jeopardize my own livelihood. And then, what if I simply don't have time to deal with her affairs, that is where I am being put in a position where I have to choose between keeping my job and my personal relationships at home versus going to deal with things over there, would having POA force me to do the latter? Thank you
That is, if my mom is sued by somebody for some reason, does that mean I am being sued, and my personal assets are at risk, rather than just hers'? Having power of attorney doesn't mean that you become "one and the same" person, it just means that you can stand in their place legally. If somebody sues your mother, you are authorized to act on your mother's behalf, but that doesn't mean that you are liable for any judgement. Of course there is a fiduciary responsibility to act in your mothers best interest, and violating that can open you up to suits that you are responsible for (because the suit would be against you, not your mother). And, what if she runs out of money, would I be personally financially liable for covering her expenses? No, you wouldn't be. Debts would be settled the same way as if she didn't have anybody acting as PoA. She (you) could declare bankruptcy on her behalf and have the debts discharged. This doesn't obligate you to pay them. And then, what if I simply don't have time to deal with her affairs, that is where I am being put in a position where I have to choose between keeping my job and my personal relationships at home versus going to deal with things over there, would having POA force me to do the latter? This is a personal decision for you. You could alternatively pursue having her declared as an "adult ward of the State". You need to consult a lawyer if you take on full power of attorney, to both protect you, your assets, and your responsibilities. This is something that you really need a lawyer to draft so that the lines are clear, and the expectations are as well. You may need to get a court involved if she is not of clear mind to sign these papers.
The rules for a Texas power of attorney are summarized in this page from Texas Lawhelp. The actual law is 2005 Texas Probate Code CHAPTER XII. DURABLE POWER OF ATTORNEY ACT Both of these indicate that the agent (aka attorney-in-fact) must be specifically named in the POA document. My experience with a POA in a similar situation in NJ is that multiple agents may be named, or backups in case the primary agent dies or is not available. However the Texas pages do not specifically say that. But in any case the agent or agents must be named in the POA signed by the principal, who must be of sound mind at the time the POA is signed. An agent does not have the power to name a replacement or backup agent. An Agent might be able to give a POA to another person to act in the agent's place, but that POA would lapse if the agent died, and the law does not specifically permit this, so it might not be valid in any case. A Texas court can appoint a Guardian for an incompetent person, and such an appointment takes precedence over an existing POA. That would be a way to deal with the situation if there is reason to think the agent might die or become unavailable while the principal is mentally incapable.
The simplest solution is to hire an attorney to do this for you. If you want to do it the hard way, you need to try to figure out why your motions were denied. For example, did you file proper motions, or did you just write on a piece of paper "I need all of Walmart's records"? Why do you think that a court will / should supply you with an Open Record (of what)? A real lawsuit is not like Judge Judy where you tell your story and hope the judge has sympathy on your plight. Did the judge say / write anything about why he is denying your requests?
Off the top of my head, unless there's a provision that says otherwise, no, they cannot do that. Obviously, I can't tell you if there's a provision that says otherwise. Consult a lawyer for more specific advice.
IANAL. I am not your lawyer. The following is not legal advice. The insurance company, regardless of how you feel about their process, has it appears, to have discharged their duties, namely they have paid out two separate claims. The personal property claim has been paid to the estate as the beneficiary, while the property claim has been paid out with the mortgage company as the beneficiary. The mortgage company seems, to me (disclaimer, I work at a financial institution, albeit in an IT role), to also be reasonable. Six months is an extremely long time without contact or payment (where I work, the loss mitigation department is sent all loans that are 3 months delinquent); the fact that you, the estate executor were not aware of the passing of the debtor is of no consequence. Also, many loans contain clauses that allow the lender to accelerate the loan (i.e. demand "immediate" payment of the whole outstanding balance). So they've started foreclosure proceedings, probably about 3 months ago. As for the foreclosure proceedings: The received $45,000 will be applied to the loan. The property (not just the house, but the entire lot) will be sold at public auction, as all foreclosed houses are in the state of New York. Proceeds from the sale of the house shall be applied to paying off the loan. If the proceeds exceed the outstanding mortgage amount, the estate will be sent the remaining proceeds. If the proceeds are less than the remaining amount, the estate is retains (i.e. owes) the remaining debt. EDIT: As an example of why the noting of jurisdiction is important on this stack-exchange, Nate Eldredge has informed me that in New York, it is possible for a judge to reduce the "remaining debt" of the estate by declaring that the sold house had a higher "fair market value" than it sold for.
I am going to convert a set of comments into an answer. Please note, IANAL, especially in your jurisdiction. You are asking the wrong question. The Court is not specifically ordering your father to make more money; it is ordering him to support his ex-wife (XW) at a level similar to what she enjoyed during the 20-year marriage. This is not outlandish. In fact, it would be typical of a divorce in the old days, when the mother (1) was likely to have custody of any minor children and (2) was likely to have not worked outside the home, at least, not in a high-skill job. It's less typical today, since these conditions are less common now. He can do this by continuing to work to make more money, or by giving her most of his pension, or by selling off his land, etc. How is his issue. However, your father is making no attempt to improve his situation, and as I will discuss below, this doesn't seem unprecedented. Even though XW has hired an attorney, he has not, using the excuse it is too expensive&mdash;while the XW&rsquo;s capable attorney takes him to the cleaners. Penny wise pound foolish. This is a serious error. He has not entered into a formal custody arrangement. XW could appear at any time demanding at least half-time custody, for whatever reason. This is a serious error. He has taken on unofficial sole custody of the minor child (your half-sister, I suppose), without asking for child support, even though this would substantially offset the alimony to XW. He could probably get this even before the full court hearing, although, again, IANAL, and he needs a local lawyer to handle such a petition. This is a very serious error. He allowed XW to present what you feel is an unrealistic picture of his income based on his second job. Now, depending on your father's age, maybe lowering the standard of living and retiring on a pension is unrealistic. But did your father make any attempt to show that XW had worked before or during the marriage or had marketable skills? At least in some jurisdictions, alimony would be reduced by what the Court feels XW should contribute to her own upkeep. Since she isn't taking care of children, she can't use them as an excuse to stay home. This is a serious error. He could also explain that since he was now in charge of the minor child, it was unfair to ask him to work far from home (more common with the sexes reversed, but not unheard of). Did he introduce a more complete income history showing that the second job was recent, intended to be temporary, away from home, and he detested it? Or did he just let XW bring in her version, unopposed? A lawyer would have introduced this argument if it is valid where you live. This is a serious error, that must be remedied before the final hearing. My first thought was that your father is still in shock from XW leaving him and petitioning for divorce, but on re-reading your description of why he took the second job, frankly, he seems to arrange his life to get pushed around and then whine about it. You need not indulge this. Tell him to get a divorce lawyer, not go around looking for someone to sympathize over the bad deal he got after "saving" money representing himself.
Are you in the United States? If so, you're an adult and therefore legally free to move out of your parents' home and to enter into contracts. As a legal matter, you don't really need to do much at all beyond turn 18 to be permitted to sign a lease. There are of course all manner of practical impediments to finding a place to live (perhaps you have inadequate income, credit, or references), but none that should be insurmountable. EDIT: You've indicated in the comments that you may be under a guardianship, but you seem to be indicating that you doubt whether this is true. If you are under a guardianship, your rights are likely to be quite different than under usual circumstances. It seems quite unlikely to me that an adult who has the mental capacity to come asking these questions could be under a guardianship without knowing about it. Given that your parents are the purported guardians, I don't know how you could have been placed under their guardianship without appearing in court sometime around your 18th birthday, which I assume you'd remember. You should determine whether you are under a guardianship. You can probably do this by searching the court records online for each county you've lived in. Alternatively, you could contact adult protective services or an equivalent agency.
Between your mother and you the bank does not care where the payments come from. If they do not get them, they can sue you, or your mother or (most likely) both of you and they will chase whichever of you has the most money and ultimately repossess the house to satisfy the debt. What matters between you is the contract or deed that you signed with your mother where you documented that you would each pay half of the mortgage. Unfortunately, agreements between family members are presumed not to be contracts. That is, the courts will not get involved to decide how much each of you owe - you have to sort that out for yourselves. A signed agreement will usually overcome that presumption. Other evidence may overcome the presumption - for example, evidence that you split the payments 50/50 for some period of time. Talk to your mother. And a lawyer.