when both parents have passed 3 weeks between the two and the estate for the first parent has not been settle

Powers of attorney expire upon the death of the person that issued the POA.  So, after their death, the power of attorney doesn't mean anything, and certainly doesn't entitle a person to take money out of an account.  However, many accounts are set up as joint ownership accounts with rights of survivorship.  If the person who was named as power of attorney was also named as a joint owner, he/she owns the money in the account outright at the time of the death of the other person. Based on your description, I would strongly recommend that you speak with an attorney with experience in estate litigation matters.  Our office has quite a bit of experience in these matters, as do several others in North Carolina.  Good luck going forward either way.   Jay Mills 919.235.3824 (phone) jmills@bdppa.com (email)