Pine Plains, NY Estate Planning Law Firms & Lawyers

No. The power of attorney ceases to have legal effect on your mother's death. He has no legal authority to do anything using the power of attorney. You should proceed to have the will probated and the personal representative (executor) can sell the home.

Probably a Trust would be the best vehicle to achieve what you want without a Trust into which you transfer all of your assets, what remains in your name when you die, will be subject to your wife's claims as she has certain priorities. Even if you have a Will that gives everything to your children, your spouse can file a claim in probate to elect to take against the will, in which case she would receive of what she would normally have received if you did not have a Will.

You need a will, and probably a power of attorney and other estate planning documents. You need to decide how you want your assets and belongings to be distributed when you are gone and a last will and testament will ensure that happens. In the absence of a will, your partner will get nothing unless you have joint bank accounts or real estate held as joint tenants with rights of survivorship. In that case the share of the person who passes away first goes to the other joint tenant. You also need to make decisions about who you want to make health care and financial decisions for you if you cannot do so- your partner or your child. A power of attorney appoints a person (or persons) to make financial decisions and other non-medical decisions and tasks for you and is only valid while you are alive. A health care proxy appoints another person to make healthcare decisions for you if you are unable to do so. A living will is a useful document to give instructions to your health care proxy, or directly to a doctor or hospital if you are unable to do so.  If you married, whether or not you have a will, your spouse is entitled to the first $50,000 or one-third of your net assets, unless you sign a pre-nuptial agreement that specifies otherwise, as well as a car up to $25,000 in value, cash up to $20,000, personal belongings and clothing up to $20,000 in value, and books, records, photos up to $2,500 in value.