
Originally Posted by
sweetpea_athome
My mother is dying and i in the hospital. My sister is Power Of Attorney. Can my sister leagally withdrawl all of my mothers pension monies without my mothers consent?
The blanket answer is yes; the explanation is:
In NYS - and perhaps every other State - there are various types of P/A with various responsibilities. Your sister could, for example (from the NYS website):
"Buy or sell your mother's real estate
Manage your mother's property
Conduct your mother's banking transactions
Invest, or not invest, your mother's money
Make legal claims and conduct litigation
Attend to tax and retirement matters
Make gifts on your mother's behalf"
Your sister (again, in NYS) cannot make medical decision for your mother.
Your sister is not supposed to be running her life on your mother's money; however, I have seen cases where the person with the P/A claimed that she had the person's authorization to give herself (the person with the P/A) gifts of money.
If your mother is able to understand and sign she could revoke the P/A - if she is willing to do so. Unfortunately many times these problems don't arise until the person is terminally ill and then there's little that can be done due to medication or general health.
If your mother does revoke then someone else will have to be appointed by the Court to manage her affairs OR she could designate someone else.