The long term insurance company is mailing checks to my mother's house. Even though sister and
brother in-law have health
power of attorney
, they are keeping the checks and the fiduciary has not
questioned them regarding payments they are receiving. Fiduciary is giving them an allowance from the trust to handle our mother's health insurance and general expenses. Does my sister have a right to keep my mother's checks? Previously, fiduciary requested from family all checks, monies etc has to be turned over to him. Can my sister and brother in-law legally keep my mother's money? Mother was declared incompetent 6 months prior to getting attorney/notary and has 7/24 hour long term care. Notary/attorney did not get id or thumb print. Sister has letter from dr stating Mother's dementia, confuse, etc
I do not have any POA. My sister has health POA. The fiduciary is giving her 9k/month for health
and general expenses. The fiduciary is not aware that the long term insurance company my mother has, has been mailing reimbursement checks to mother's house without fiduciary knowledge. The allowance pays for mother's caregivers. Caregiver agency then send invoice to insuance company
who reimburses the difference. Is my sister allowed to keep the checks my mother is receiving.
Ivette M SantaellaEstate Planning AttorneySan Ramon, CA ·
Hello,
It sounds like your Mother is a conservatee in a conservatorship and a professional fiduciary is the conservator of the estate, since you have POA over her health.
Please note that at least annually the fiduciary is required to provide an accounting to an examiner for the probate court's review.
There must be a reason the fiduciary is taking this action and it is recommended that you consult with him.
It may be that since your Mom unfortunately has dementia and needs round the clock care that your sister is using the long term care money to pay for your Mom's long term care expenses with the fiduciary's knowledge.
It is recommended that you get more information and if there is no response or the responses are inadequate, then you can contact the probate court that is handling your Mom's conservatorship.
Your sister having the healthcare
Power of attorney
shouldn't allow her to handle the financial matters, including the long term care insurance benefit payments. That should be up to the court appointed fiduciary. Do you know whether the fiduciary is even aware of the situation? If not then you should advise them of your concerns. You can also report the matter to Adult Protective Services who will investigate.
A court appointed fiduciary takes precedence over a medical
Power of Attorney
since the power of attorney is limited to medical issues. The courts usually take this position since a family member may not necessarily be qualified to handle the financial affairs of the ward. Some states require a criminal background check before appointing a fiduciary. The fiduciary must be notified of any elder exploitation and should take appropriate action.
