post humous "power of attorney" are illegal in illinois right?

Question

Ok, before my grandmother died many of her nurses and friends and a few relatives were told that she left instructions if anything should happen to her. Problem is she never got it in writing and the nurses administators forbaded me from getting the statements from the nurses, (understandable).
But, as to the instructions given to me by my grandma's old legal friend, I was paying off my grandmother's debt's as instructed.
Before she died, we were told that her accounts were only allowed to be accessed to pay off her debts. Then after the debts were paid, the receipts and everything was to be filed to the state to show it was all paid off. Then the state would provide and allow anyremaining credits in her accounts to her surviving children.
The issue at hand, is that one of her children is trying to gain a "power of attorney" to access her accounts "before" her debts get paid.
Which, is correct action, to follow?

Answer 1

I'm not in Illinois, but I work in a law firm, and have always been told that all powers of attorney are only good until the person dies anyway. At that point the POA is null and void. So anything this child of hers does to try to fabricate one would be fraudulent.

There is no reason for someone to access the accounts prior to the debts being paid, unless it's just to steal the money (but you knew that!). Talk to your grandma's old legal friend about it quickly, if you haven't already.

Answer 2

First I'm condolences on the passing of your grandmother.

If you grandmother granted the power of attorney, that power ended at her death. Your grandmother must be alive to grant that power and she must be alive for the person with the power if attorney to used it. So at her death no one can be granted the power of attorney, and if they had the power of attorney it ended with her death.
All a power of attorney really does is allow one person to conduce business in the name of another person, sometimes that power is limited to one issue, that is if I'm going out of the country, I can grant the power of attorney to someone to sign paper on my behalf on, to close on a house for example, or I can grant them full power of attorney and they would be able to conduce all my business. But they are only taking my place, if I’m dead I cannot conduced business so the person representing my cannot conduced business in my name.

Now if she didn't leave a will, the court will appoint and executor of her estate, that might be what her child is trying to do, and then under the courts oversight they will pay her debts and then the rest would be divided up according to state law. Now if she left a will, she would have name an executor and they, under the probate laws of the state will settle her affairs and divided up whatever is left according to her wishes.

Now if the person is trying to drain the accounts before her debts are paid, they could very well find themselves in jail. I’ve seen it happen too often, and what’s sad is that one or two of the family members will pay the debts and the guilty party will get away with it. In fact I’ve only seen it happen twice where the guilty party went to jail, once when the family members didn’t have the money to pay the debts, and one other time where the family turned the other person in to the probate court. Of course according to the guilty party, their families were evil SOBs.

Personally I’d ask the court to appoint a attorney to act as executor, if not watch and if the person is trying to drain the accounts turn them in to the court and let the court handle it

Good luck.

Answer 3

I cannot say for the State of Illinois, but in most States when a person dies their estate goes to probate court which directs how the estate will be divided after public notification of the death of the individual requesting that any claims against the estate be made.The court then decide in what order claims will be paid and usually appoints an executor or executrix that is responsible to the court to carry out the disbursement of the estate.