Elderly parent/ power of attorney help...

[dg39]

Long story short: My DM is elderly, sickly and lives by herself. She will be coming to live w/me & my family in several months. Monday, I will be contacting a lawyer to get power of attorney. My question is, she just decided to sign with a real estate to sell her house. She told me nothing of this until tonight and doesn't understand what she signed. I have called the real estate agent for a copy of the contract and to find out what is going on, but did not get a call back (yet). Once I get power of attorney, can the contract she signed be null & void. I don't want my mother to get taken by anyone, if I can help it. With the state of mind she is in, she's not able to make any type of important decisions for herself and wants me to take over everything. If the contract she signs is indeed good and fair, then we will keep this agent til the house sells.My DM, told me that the agent told her if she sells her house for the asking price, my mother stands to gain several thousand dollars when in reality, she should come out with over 150,000.00. I know what my DM owes on her house and what her asking price is.. Also, does anyone know about the process for obtaining power of attorney is?
What a big mess we're dealing with. But, until I speak to an attorney, maybe some one here can shed some light on this issue for me... Thanks in Advance..

 

[halestrm]

Depending on the laws of your state, you can't override the current contract unless you prove legally she is unable to make these decisions. Generally you have a 72 hour buyers remourse period.

There are many types of power of atty; medical; finance; complete; as well as some that expire. The problem could be that if you prove she can't sign the real estate contract, why can she give you power of atty. See my drift?

Will try to find you a link. Good luck!

 

[halestrm]

Well, you have three days to back out of a sale in NJ. Don't know where the contract is based from, going on your NYC/NJ. Still looking!

New Jersey 3 Day Real Estate Contract Review Lawyer
Serving clients throughout South Jersey, including Moorestown, Cherry Hill, Marlton, Mount Laurel, Voorhees, Haddonfield, Woodbury, Sicklerville, Vineland, Mullica Hill

Under New Jersey law, you may have three (3) days following the sale or purchase of a house or other real estate to have an attorney review, cancel, make changes to, or approve your Contract of Sale (also called a Purchase Agreement).

The three-day review period is unique to New Jersey and is intended to protect both buyers and sellers. Often when people buy a home in New Jersey, the contract is prepared by a realtor without legal training. By giving you an opportunity to have a real estate lawyer review the contract during that 3-day period, you have an opportunity to modify or cancel contracts that are not in your best interest.

 

[pumba]

we went to an Elder lawyer. Power of attorney is just that......ONLY can assist in the decisions that your MOM makes. If she is not in her right mind than it is another type of paper work you need. I really do suggest that she go to an Elder lawyer and get the proper papers done. Also get your name on her checking account and her savings or whatever else she possesses.....Her name would be first and yours second. That way you can ASSIST her in cashing her checks or you can make checks out for her if she can't do it herself..
The money spent for the proper information is worth it.......

 

[dg39]

Sorry , I should have included, that my mom lives in Florida. We already discussed that when she was to decide when she wanted to put her house up for sale, me and my dh would fly down and help her out, as well, as finding her a moving van, packing, etc. She told me tonight that she signed with the real estate agent on Sept. 1. Mind you I speak to her at the very least 4 times a week and she never mentioned a word to me. She's in her upper 70's and is getting extremely forgetful and half of the time she doesn't make to much sense. Her health is going down hill and its in her best interest for her to come live with us. She can't manage alone anymore. But, now she tells me she wants me to manage every single thing for her,(completely everything) and I have no problem with that, but, now, I'm afraid she may have gotten herself in some kind of mess, and I'm not sure if I'll be able to get her out of it.

 

[minkydog]

we went to an Elder lawyer. Power of attorney is just that......ONLY can assist in the decisions that your MOM makes. If she is not in her right mind than it is another type of paper work you need. I really do suggest that she go to an Elder lawyer and get the proper papers done. Also get your name on her checking account and her savings or whatever else she possesses.....Her name would be first and yours second. That way you can ASSIST her in cashing her checks or you can make checks out for her if she can't do it herself..
The money spent for the proper information is worth it.......

I absolutely agree. We practically had to force my dad to sign the papers when he was hospitalized for the last time. He was still mentally capable, but was heavily medicated. There were times when he was not competent to make decisions. Eventually we had emergency papers done in teh hospital, but it would have been better if he had done it in a calmer, less emotinal setting.

We recently had our own powers of attorney done by an Elder care attorney and it was well worth the cost to have the peace of mind.

 

[dg39]

Thanks for all the replies. I've been on her bank accounts for several years now, so at least I don't have to worry about that. I'm more worried about the process of getting power of attorney and how long it takes to do. I need to get her down here living with us, so everyones mind can rest easy. She already knew for awhile, she'd be living with me. I have plenty of room for her to have her own living room, bedroom, bathroom and kitchen. She'd have her own privacy, but, me and my family would be here to help her with whatever she needs to do or go. I just wish she would have told me that she was going to sign with an agent (BEFORE, SHE SIGNED THE PAPERS). Her mind really is all there, most of the time, but, from our conversations, I hear that things are going downhill fast. I feel(and so does she) that before her health is bad, if, I can take over things now, it will be easier for all of us later on.

I hope I'm making sense, its just that I'm so darn nervous over this whole thing.

 

[disneyeveryyear]

If she still has her faculties, then she should be able to sign over Power of Attorney to you with no problem.

If however she is suffering from any type of dementia, then you will have to go through a court process whereas you can be appointed her Guardian. This is a much more intricate process whereas you will need an attorney to help. She will have a Guardian ad litem appointed (usually another attorney) to help protect her until she can assessed and a Guardian appointed.

If she is determined to be capable at this time, then you may need to review the FL real estate agent's contract. Most agent contracts are for a fairly short period of time (3 months). I gues you could just deny any offers until the contract expires and then relist with someone else. Just review the contract, or have it review by an attorney with real estate experience to assess it is a fair contract to your mom

 

[Rella Bella]

I sent you a private message.

 

[Lessa of Pern]

If she's competent to sign a power of attorney, she's competent to sign the agreement with the real estate agent. once you get power of attonrey you can ask for a copy of the contract. keep in mind -- she didn't sell the house, she just committed to using a specific agent to sell the house.

it's easy to get power of attorney -- the person granting the power signs a legal document designating you as her "attorney in fact", and then the document is notarized. as long as the person granting the power remains legally competent, he or she can revoke the power. the power expires automatically when the grantor dies. unless the grantor specifies otherwise, the power is revoked when the grantor becomes legally incompetent to make their own decision. (a "durable power of attorney" remains in effect even if the grantor is incompetent.)

if your mother is already incompetent you need to go to court to be appointed her fiduciary.