Financial matters post death

[Houseplantmad]

DSIL was POA for finance as well as health for MIL. MIL recently died and SIL is now an executor. DH believes some financial decisions were made when she was POA that were not beneficial to MIL but rather to SIL and there has been no transparency around them. Does he have any rights to request bank statements and records for the period she was POA? He is likely to be a beneficiary in the Will but nothing is certain in his family however, he would like to know whether his mother has been screwed over to the extent he thinks she may have been.

Bump

Did he have contact with your mother while she was alive? Was she well cared for?

Yes, was in contact every few days, much more so than SIL who lives in Australia. MIL was moved to care home against her wishes by SIL and used to beg us to get her out. SIL misled her as to the extent of her wealth so that she was frightened money would have run out quickly if she had carers at home. She had plenty of cash, pension income and assets to pay for 24/7 home care but was told she had very little money by SIL. DH fought her going into the home but was unsuccessful as didn't have any POA. SIL is eldest so, in MIL's generation of
this family, that carries more weight in terms of whose opinion counts!

I can't see why SIL would want her in a care home other than for your mil's benefit because it would coat far more. Plus it puts less pressure on your dhouse than if she'd stayed at home.

I can't see why SIL would want her in a care home other than for your mil's benefit because it would cost far more. Plus it puts less pressure on your dh than if she'd stayed at home.

No, care home was much cheaper than care at home. DH had organised care at home, which MIL was happy with and could afford, and SIL scuppered this in favour of care home, as she didn't want to have to get more involved in care. At the end of the day MIL's wishes were not listened to, even though she was of sound mind and very switched on.
Anyway, that's not the nub of the issue, the issue is SIL not being transparent in her use of MIL's money and whether DH, who is a beneficiary but not an executor, can ask for full disclosure of all financial records prior to MIL's death as we suspect some funds have been used for SIL's purposes, not MIL's.

Why did sil have poa rather than dh? Surely the time to challenge this has passed. Can sil adequately be executor from such as distance or has the estate been referred to a solicitor.

SIL had POA as she's eldest. The time to ask for full transparency is very much now with MIL having passed away so recently. Having misled her mother deliberately over her finances, DH is keen to find out why SIL did this and there is some evidence funds may have been diverted elsewhere.
Good question re being effective executor - DH ended up being executor in all but name when his father died five years ago due to her being abroad.
Again, does anyone know legally whether a beneficiary has the right to see financial records managed by a POA prior to death?

If you're concerned money was mis-used maybe the office of the public guardian can help you, SIL should have kept financial records. They might be able to help or point you in the right direction. Is there a solicitor handling the estate and the Will you can talk to.
www.gov.uk/report-concern-about-attorney-deputy-guardian

If MIL was of sound mind how was she moved into a carehome against her wishes, health and welfare POA only kicks in when someone has lost the mental capacity to make their own decisions.

I was just about to post the same as @DoingDiddlySquat

@DoingDiddlySquat

If MIL was of sound mind how was she moved into a carehome against her wishes, health and welfare POA only kicks in when someone has lost the mental capacity to make their own decisions.

This....I have POA ready for when needed with my mum.

The time to ask for full transparency is very much now with MIL having passed away so recently.

The time to ask would have been while MIL, who was of sound mind, was still alive. Any suspicious financial transactions would then be able to be discussed with MIL. Now MIL is not here to answer the questions how will you know what was discussed and readily agreed to?

Are you really ready to go to the police and/or shell out thousands of pounds on solicitors with no proof?

If MIL choose to keep her financial information private from your dh when she was alive why should he have rights to see it now she is gone? MIL choose to trust SIL with her financial POA and to be her executor for a reason.

If MIL was of sound mind how was she moved into a carehome against her wishes, health and welfare POA only kicks in when someone has lost the mental capacity to make their own decisions.

Good question but it can still happen and does. The Local Authority safeguarding team were involved as they had concerns about MIL's wishes being ignored. A compromise was reached with SIL/MIL that MIL would stay at home 4 nights and be in the care home for 3. SIL then frightened MIL into thinking she would run out of money imminently if she carried on having both care at home and the care home by not disclosing to her the full extent of her assets etc. As soon as the safeguarding team "closed the case", SIL withdrew payment for any at home care (POA for finances) so that MIL then had to remain in the home. By that time MIL had started to deteriorate physically, as she predicted she would if put in a care home. It was heartbreaking when we took her out for lunches etc as she would cry all the way back and plead with us not to return her. Without DH being able to pay for care at home we were powerless to act. The care home accepted the POA for health on SIL's say so by post, even though Public Guardian office told DH this should not have been the case as it should have been presented in person and with ID, and with an assessment of MIL's mental state but said it would involve legal action. (I won't even mention the story of how MIL was put on an end of life pathway by the care home with no reference to her, the family, not even the POA). There is a disconnect between POA being enforced/use of it being policed.

It is a very unsavoury tale and MIL was blissfully ignorant of what was going on with her finances as she was in the home and not told about anything. DH, meanwhile, had no access to accounts so could not verify the activity on them.

MIL didn't choose SIL as executor. FIL did many years ago but she would never change anything that FIL had put in place.
@WeAllHaveWings Are you really ready to go to the police and/or shell out thousands of pounds on solicitors with no proof?
This is the nub of my question, whether DH can have full disclosure of the accounts in the time SIL was running MIL's finances. There won't be any police action but I know from my experience with my family that there can and should be full transparency in these instances.

@DoingDiddlySquat DH will contact them on Monday morning, thank you and thank you others for your help.