I just heard from a cousin that my father’s last living sibling, his twin brother, passed away a few days ago. My father has dementia and I am his legal guardian. We were not formally notified. Is that required? My uncle was never married and had no children. Wouldn’t that make my father next of kin? My uncle has a home and quite a great deal of assets. I have heard from my cousin that the home was already sold by her sibling who has power of attorney. I’m assuming that they will be keeping all of that money. My father’s life and level of care could be greatly impacted by this. It feels wrong, but is it, legally? I don’t know if I am right to say anything or not. Please advise
I don't see why you couldn't ask the person who WAS (and is no longer) POA if they know anything about the uncle's estate, but again, wait a bit. If Uncle had a trust (and with a lot of assets, he should have) as well as a will, but the will might not say much of anything if everything's in the trust. My parents' wills basically said, "I leave all my stuff to my spouse," and that was it, because the house and all the bank accounts were in the trust.
I didn't even bother filing my mother's will, because it cost $50 to file my dad's and it didn't say anything. I wasn't going to waste another $50 just so the county could keep a copy on file. No one's ever going to look it up, and if they did it wouldn't have told them anything anyway.
Probate can't even be done till a certain number of days after death. My State 9 or 10 days. The POA has no power after death. The estate becomes the responsibility of the Executor. The Executor goes to probate and has the Will put on file. The Will is now public and anyone can request a copy. Its the Executors responsibility to notify the beneficiaries and interested parties that Will is now in Probate. A copy of the Will is sent along with the notification or available upon request. In my State probate cannot be closed for 8 months. Creditors have to be given time to get any claims against the estate filed. And the Executor has a lot to deal with. You need tax numbers from the government. Have to make sure all bills and liens are paid. Its not just cut and dry. An accting is done and each beneficiary has to sign off on it. If its contested, then it will take that much longer to close out Probate.
If Uncle died without a Will, then the State determines who inherits. But if Uncle had a POA he probably had a Will. Yes, there is no law that Uncle needs to leave his money to siblings. Seems like you and Dad were not close to this Uncle if it took a cousin 2 days to contact you. I would not count on ur Dad getting anything. Be surprised when he does.
The next of kin thing only goes into effect when there is no Will and there is an estate.
Yes, of course you should reach out to this person who WAS the POA, and you should ask if they are also the Executor of Estate or the Trustee of any Trust. There may, after all have been NO will or Estate left. You should feel free to tell them that any funds that may have been left by this gentleman to his brother would as you told us, greatly impact his life for the better. You are doing nothing wrong.
Meanwhile it hurts nothing to check with the records office to see if Probate has been opened (in the case of a will; trusts aren't filed) as this must be legally recorded. If the will IS legally recorded you are able to read it.
If you meet roadblocks that you feel indicate someone is hiding something important, then feel free to contact a Trust and Estate Attorney who can write letters of concerned next of kin or their Fiduciary (ARE you POA for your Dad) asking for notification if there are any family members who are bequeathed any funds or property.
I sure wish you the best and I hope you'll update us. It sounds as though these cousins (progeny of another sister?) were most in touch with and caring for your Dad's bro before his passing.
Do know that legally the Executor or Administrator or Trustee of an Estate have time for notify beneficiaries; as I said the time is dictated by state law.