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rmd5310
Dec 13, 2013, 03:12 AM
My mother passed away two years ago and had no will.
She had three children form her first marriage.
She had two children from her second marriage, me and my brother.
My father is in the process of passing now. My father has a will
Leaving me as benificary only.
I also have power of attorny to handle my fathers affairs.
Do my step brothers have any right to my parents home,
And with the power of attorney do I have the power to sell the home,
Thanks for any help

ScottGem
Dec 13, 2013, 04:49 AM
First, it's not a good idea to piggyback your question on another thread. To avoid confusion I've moved your post to its own thread.

Second, Any question on law needs to include your general locale as laws vary by area.

Was your mother's estate settled? If she died intestate, then her estate should have been distributed according to local laws. Her natural children were probably due some share of her estate.

Your father's will governs his estate as long as it was written according to local laws. His step children will probably have no claim on his estate.

Whether you can sell the home before your father's death depends on the terms of the POA. Once your father dies, the POA is void. It would then be up to the executor of the estate to sell the property.

joypulv
Dec 13, 2013, 08:29 AM
If your mother had no assets of her own, then her children from the previous marriage have no claim on your father's estate.
If your father needs nursing home care and that's the reason you want to sell the home now, keep it mind that if his care costs use up all his assets and he has to get Medicaid, Medicaid will take the home or any proceeds from the sale. The sale would have to be 5+ years before to be exempt from being taken.
If he is in a nursing home and the house is in danger of being taken, sell it yourself first, because Medicaid will just hand it over to a broker and say 'get the quick sale price.'
Your POA should spell out your abilities. There are several kinds of POA.

stinawords
Dec 13, 2013, 08:29 AM
Not only do laws very by state but POAs in the same state can also be quite different. Part of your question depends on whether your mother's estate has been settled.

Another part depends on how much authority your POA gives you across the board. Some are strictly for medical decisions, others for the ability to pay bills on behalf of the other person, and some are a combination of things. They can be very restrictive as well as very broad just depending on how the person wanted it written up and how much they wanted you to be able to do.

After your father passes, the matter of his step children will be up to the will. If he included them then they will be entitled to whatever he wished for them (law abiding). However, if he did not, then it isn't likely that they could claim anything from a step parent. He didn't legally adopt them did he? The reason I ask is because if he did then they are as much his children as you and your brother according to law.

stinawords
Dec 13, 2013, 08:33 AM
Also, as joy pointed out if he needs a nursing home they will generally claim first right to a home if his expenses are greater than his resources. This is especially true with medicare and I know in my state at least they are able to hold it for ten years (some states less) in order to sell to cover his expenses.

joypulv
Dec 13, 2013, 08:50 AM
Medicare has nothing to do with taking assets. And the Medicaid rule is 5 years in all states.
I don't understand what stinawords is saying, unless it's the period during which a person is deemed able to live in his own home, which varies by state, and which can be complicated as people go in and out of hospitals and care facilities on a 'temporary' basis.

If you did sell the house, Medicaid can't seize your money, but they can deny your father care.

stinawords
Dec 13, 2013, 09:02 AM
True about medicare, sorry I typed that rather than medicaid. In Indiana I was told ten years by the nursing home I worked for.