QUESTION
Can someone with the power of attorney change someone else’s will after the will’s creator and beneficiary have died?
Asked on Feb 27th, 2021 on Estate Planning - Georgia
More details to this question:
My grandmother made a will and bequeathed all her earthly possessions to her son. Both she and her son have died though. Can her other granddaughter who has the power of attorney change my grandmother’s will in any way?
3 ANSWERS
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If your grandmother died, someone should open an estate for her to insure her will is followed. Depending on who died first and how the will is written, the son may not inherit anything. Please see a probate attorney to understand your rights.
Answered on Mar 13th, 2021 at 6:07 AM
4 Awards
Not legally. First of all, a power of attorney does not grant the agent the power to change the principal's Will (the principal is the person who granted the power of attorney, and the agent is the person to whom the power of attoney was granted). Second of all, a power of attorney dies with the principal, and is no longer valid after the principal dies.
Answered on Mar 02nd, 2021 at 5:27 AM
This answer is being provided as general information and not as legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is created by this answer.
2 Awards
The authority of an agent under a Durable Power of Attorney expires with the person who granted it.
The Will should describe to whom things should pass if the son died before his mother. They generally pass first to his children or, if none, to his sibings. Read the Will and ask a local probate lawyer to help settle the estate.
Note that in many states family members can present to the court a Family Settlement Agreement changing the distribution under the Will.
Answered on Feb 28th, 2021 at 5:28 AM
This is general information. It cannot substitute for a personal consultation with an attorney. It is not intended to be legal advice or imply an attorney-client relationship.