What rights does she have, no will?

Question

My dad died 3 mnths ago, 2 years ago he took out his government pension with the help of my aunt who was power of attorney & beneficiary due to alcholism and stealing of money from my brother. She opened a joint acct, an RRSP & A GIC. His pension was worth approx 160,000 My aunt is now saying that there is only 50 000 dollars left approx, never has a straight answer for anything. She says my brother stole 23000 and my dad spent 86000 absolutely nothing to show for any of it and now there is only approx 50 thousand left. I ask for statements for the past 5 yrs of his personal acct and gic/rrsp so that I can repair my relationship with my brother & see what role he played in the spending of all this money. Her & I had a close relationship until I asked that question and she attacked me in an email I she wont return my calls. I am wondering what rights does she have to his money? She has only been in my dads life 4 the past 3 yrs,he was a very sick man!! HELP

I am his 28yr old daughter

isnt his money rightfully his childrens?

yes that is his sister, makes me so sad & so sick!

but power of attorney died when he died?

before I asked the statement question she was saying that she will doll the money out to his 3 kids when she gets a check and that majority would go to me, I believe that she was trying to bribe me?

Define moot?

I walked in a conversation at my dads funeral regarding stocks, I think that a portion of it has been invested in stocks

is the money still rightfully ours even though she had a joint bank acct with him, and joint bank acct was b/c she was there to protect his money

Should I try and phone her again or just contact a lawyer?

Answer 1

First, your Aunt became a fiduciary when she was given power of attorney for your father. If she has acted in other than his best interest, then she has breached that duty, and committed an actionable tort. So, a legal action should immediately be filed to a: freeze the assets that are remaining and terminate her access to them b: compel a full accounting of the funds that she has already spent c: determine if possible what your fathers mental state was at the time of these events. If he was not competent to make these choices, then the POA would be invalid and all actions taken under color of its authority invalid.
Some remedies that are available depend on what she did with the funds. If the funds were converted to other property, then a constructive trust can be obtained against those assets until a writ of replevin can be obtained to compel her to
return the property. It should be noted that constructive trust is available only when a direct link can be established between the original funds and the property they were converted to. Another chance is equitable lien. If the funds cant be traced, an equitable lien may be available against some asset that this person has.
As a general matter of law, if a person dies intestate, his property should be disposed of in accordance with the law of intestate succession. A table of consanguinity would be consulted to determine in what order the property should be
dispursed, but generally if a decedent has no spouse, the first eligible heirs are his surviving children.

Answer 2

I don't know the answers for you, but I was of the understanding the if someone dies without a will, then the will goes into probate. If your father made your Aunt the beneficiary then he had to have done that under some legal manner, i.e., a will. And there should have been a formal reading of that will or some notification via an attorney.

Also, I believe that power of attorney dies with the individual, in this case, your Aunt's power of attorney may have become invalid with your father's passing. However if she is his sole beneficiary, that matter is kind of moot.

You don't need any financial statements to repair your relationship with your brother - if you truly want to repair your relationship vs. wanting to find out his role in the finances.

Good Luck, I'm sorry your father passed, and by all means get an attorney. May do pro-bono work for those who are not in a position to pay. Contact a local law firm, or law school.

Answer 3

how horrible. that makes her look very suspicious. get an attorney and fight in court stating that you're his son and you have a right to know his financial business at the time of death even if you aren't entitled to the money. get a GOOD attorney because it'll be hard, but you should be able to pull it off. and if foul play is found, now only will you know the truth, but the guilty party will be brought to justice

Answer 4

Since she had POA and if she was listed as a beneficiary then it could be rough to fight it since she was his legal rep. The best advice can only come from a good lawyer who might be able to fight it if it could be proved that your father wasn't in sound mind when he signed the papers.

Answer 5

Lots of luck, I assume your aunt is his sister. If they set up a joint account she will get it all. Contact an attorney.

Answer 6

I trust the 2nd area--in specific circumstances we only want a listener who will save quiet jointly as we vent. yet no longer constantly. I HATE it while human beings sugar-coat truths or flat out misinform be using fact they 'sense undesirable', 'do no longer intend to make me sense undesirable', 'think of that's recommend', etc. No, tell me the rattling actuality to my face or you're a 2-face. i will shield the reality and that i could somewhat be disillusioned on the reality than content cloth over a lie/sugaring only to discover the truh out later and be pissed. i do no longer sugar coat issues.

Answer 7

This is a Legal Question, -you should consult a local Lawyer & ask him what Rights everyone has to your Father's money. Good luck- you're going to need it.

Answer 8

you need to talk to an attorney.. This is not something we can answer here.. Even if we gave you good advice, that advice would need an attorney to carry it out.

Answer 9

She has power of attorney....she has ultimate control. You need an attorney, otherwise you are outside looking in.