The power of attorney is rendered null and void upon the principal's passing, but the law provides other options. You cannot obtain a power of attorney to act for someone after they have passed away, and any power of attorney that is already in place is rendered null and void upon the passing of the principal, who was the person who granted you the authority to carry out specific tasks on their behalf. Even after death, someone will have to take care of their business, but it may not be the person who was designated as their agent in a power of attorney document during their lifetime.
Does Power of Attorney End When Principal Dies?
Perhaps your parent passed away not too long ago, and they had appointed you as their agent in a power of attorney document (POA). You are the person that they desired to handle certain personal business matters on their behalf, so they came to you. You now have the authority to act on their behalf in a variety of financial matters, such as purchasing or selling a property on their behalf or even just paying their bills, thanks to the power of attorney that was granted to you. You may believe that you should continue paying those bills and settling their accounts after they have passed away, but you should not do so and you also cannot do so. At the very least, you cannot do so unless you have been named as the executor of their estate in their will or the court has appointed you as the administrator of their estate in the event that they did not leave a will.When there's a will, who gets power of attorney over the estate?
After a person passes away, they are no longer able to legally own property, so the process of probate is necessary in order to transfer their assets to their living heirs. Therefore, the will of your parents needs to be submitted to the probate court as soon as possible after they pass away if they held a bank account or any other property in their sole name at the time of their deaths. This initiates the process of probate, which is legally required before their assets can be distributed to their living beneficiaries. It is the responsibility of the executor that was named in the will to carry out these tasks and oversee the administration of the estate during the probate process.When there is no will, who has power of attorney over the estate?
Even if the deceased person did not leave a will, the property they owned needs to go through the legal process of probate in order for the ownership to be transferred. The most significant distinction is that their assets will be distributed in accordance with the laws of the state, rather than in accordance with their desires, as stated in a will. If the deceased person did not leave a will, the court will appoint an administrator to handle the settlement of their estate. You can make a request to the court to be appointed as administrator, and the court will probably grant your request if the person who passed away did not leave behind a surviving spouse or if the person's surviving spouse and their other children all agree that you should take on the role of administrator.An agent under a power of attorney versus the Executor of an Estate
An individual who may or may not also be the agent under a power of attorney will be given the authority to act on a deceased person's estate by the probate court in either scenario, with or without a will. This individual may or may not also be the executor of the will. The occurrence of death results in a division between the two roles. However, in some situations, the agent named in the POA might also be named as the executor or administrator of the estate. This happens quite frequently. If you were also named as the executor or administrator of the estate, you would continue to have authority over the bank accounts and other assets that belonged to the deceased, at least until ownership of those assets could be transferred to living individuals.After a person's passing, what responsibilities does one who has the power of attorney have?
After your parent has passed away, the power of attorney that you held for them is null and void and serves no purpose. Because the deceased person can no longer legally hold money or property, there is nothing left for you to manage on the behalf that they previously owned. It's possible that the POA will give you the authority to handle their finances on their behalf, but legally speaking, they are no longer the owners of the assets or the funds that the POA has entrusted to you to manage. Since it is owned by their estate, the executor or administrator of their estate is the only person who can deal with it while the estate is going through the probate process. When most financial institutions become aware of the passing of a customer, the first thing they do is place a hold on the customer's account and label it "deceased." The freeze will remain in effect until the executor or administrator of the estate makes contact with them. In the event that you attempted to use the POA, you would be unsuccessful. Your parent may have used a living trust as a method of estate planning rather than a last will and testament, which would mean that probate would not be required in their case. Alternatively, some very small estates do not require the process of probate. If the deceased person had left behind a revocable living trust, then a successor trustee would take over after their passing; however, there are some exceptions to this rule. In either scenario, the POA loses its legal force and effect.Authorization to Act on Behalf of Others and Rights of Survivorship
If for some reason your parents' bank account or other property is not included in their estate during the probate process, this can also change the way things work out. Only the assets that are solely held in your parent's name need to go through the probate process. To transfer these assets to beneficiaries who are still alive, a legal process is necessary. But if your parent gave you "rights of survivorship" by naming you as a co-owner of their bank account or even on the deed to their home, then the account and the property will automatically and directly pass to you when they pass away. This can be done by listing your name as a co-owner on either document. There would be no need to go through the probate process for these assets. Because probate also handles the payment of your parents' final bills, you would continue to have control over these assets, but you would no longer be responsible for paying your parents' debts using the money from those assets. In the same way that you were responsible for paying debts on which you co-signed with the person who has passed away, you would be responsible for paying off debts on which you co-signed after they have passed away.Questions That Are Typically Asked (FAQs)
After someone dies, does a power of attorney that lasts for many years still hold good?
After the death of the principal, powers of attorney, whether they be durable or nondurable, become null and void. However, if the person you are authorised to represent is alive but becomes unable to care for themselves, the power of attorney you have will continue to be valid. For instance, a parent who has been diagnosed with dementia might choose to hand over durable power of attorney to an adult child.After a person's death, what rights does someone who had power of attorney over their affairs have?
Even if you were someone's power of attorney while they were alive, your rights after their death are limited to what is specified in their will, even if you had that power while they were alive. If you are dissatisfied with the decisions the executor makes regarding the estate, you may have the legal standing to contest those decisions in court.