Q: I was wondering if an aunt can sell my friend's mom's house, when there's a will given to the friend? (mom has dementia)
I read a bit into this and i feel like a surrogate's court citation is the right way to go.
The details on the situation is that, my friend was adopted by her adoptive mother,
The relatives treats my friend like a nuisance, My friend only has her mother, so the aunt and her daughter is staying at their house to help take care of the mother. The aunt is planning on selling the house that the mother has in her will for my friend. Sorry if the details are everywhere, i'm not in great details either, i just wanted to see if there are any insights regarding to this situation. Please and thank you. It would help my friend a lot.
A: Nobody can sell mom’s house except (a) an agent acting under a durable power of attorney given by mom when she had capacity, or (b) a person appointed as conservator for mom by the court. If mom never gave a power of attorney then it is too late for that. If someone has been appointed as conservator for mom most likely your friend would know about that so I am guessing that has not happened either.
James Edward Berge agrees with this answer
A: The Will confers no rights to your friend in the house until his mom dies. Until then, the house may be the only financial resource the mom has to take care of her needs. A sale of the home may be necessary under the circumstances, but it can only be done by an agent acting on mom’s behalf under a durable power of attorney or a conservator who has been empowered by the court to do so. If there’s suspected financial elder abuse, report it right away to Adult Protective Services for your local county.
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