VIC Beneficiary - Accessing Late Mum's Financial Details?
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A bit more information
My 2 brothers are the executors, one of which had power of attorney - he had been looking after mum's finances for a few months before her death. I am estranged from both brothers. The affidavit of executors listed my mum's cash assets about 50k, but mum had said she had approx. 120k.
I don't believe either of them did anything untoward, but I would like more insight into the discrepancy by having access to her financial information
My 2 brothers are the executors, one of which had power of attorney - he had been looking after mum's finances for a few months before her death. I am estranged from both brothers. The affidavit of executors listed my mum's cash assets about 50k, but mum had said she had approx. 120k.
I don't believe either of them did anything untoward, but I would like more insight into the discrepancy by having access to her financial information
A Power of Attorney typically expires upon the death of the Principal.
In the office of Power of Attorney Holder, he was accountable to her.
He was not accountable in that office to any prospective beneficiaries.
Yes, in that office, he did indeed have a duty to generally preserve her money and assets,
and apply them to her interests (and perhaps, to recover reasonable costs he incurred personally in doing so).
But that duty was owed to her, not to any future beneficiaries.
Which means that, without either his consent, which he is free to withhold, without giving reasons,
or without making an accusation of misconduct of some sort,
of the kind that could give rise to things like Discovery Orders,
I do not see where you yourself have any general/automatic right
to merely "browse" that material, nor go on a fishing trip.
Truth be, unless you're an accountant, you may not understand it (in a way that has weight of law) anyway.
With all due courtesy - stop pretending.
You want to know where the rest of the money is, or where it went.
Or indeed, if it ever existed (after all, Mum might have been mistaken).
Let me be clear - That's fair enough.
But, you are in the realm of death and money and greed and power.
I suggest that you will have a better time, if you are not naive about what you really think,
and about what you may have to do here.
Thank you for your response and information It's helping me navigate my way through foreign territory and knowing what my rights are and are not.
I am confused by your last paragraph though. There have been many things concerning mum's estate that concern me that I don't have answers for. Knowing facts and details & being able to make sense of things that don't add up to me e.g. the discrepancy, gives me peace of mind. It helps to join the dots. And I realise I may never get some answers to the questions I'm asking, but if I don't ask, I'll never know
Thank you again
I am confused by your last paragraph though. There have been many things concerning mum's estate that concern me that I don't have answers for. Knowing facts and details & being able to make sense of things that don't add up to me e.g. the discrepancy, gives me peace of mind. It helps to join the dots. And I realise I may never get some answers to the questions I'm asking, but if I don't ask, I'll never know
Thank you again
What I mean is - look within.
Deep down, you suspect misconduct by your brother
in his capacity as Power of Attorney holder.
That's scary, and not everyone has the strength to even admit it to themselves.
Wills and Succession law is about death and power and money and grief and greed.
Deep down, you suspect misconduct by your brother
in his capacity as Power of Attorney holder.
That's scary, and not everyone has the strength to even admit it to themselves.
Wills and Succession law is about death and power and money and grief and greed.
- Death, because the death of a (usually) loved on is how this stuff starts.
- Power because it can become all about who is the most "deserving".
Consider for example, the frequently occurring conflict between
one child who committed time, but not much money,
and their sibling, who, for whatever reason, did the opposite.
Consider also, the dynamic between two non-estranged siblings, and the... other one.
Power can also be something like the emotionally driven
overbearing conduct of the one of several children
who, ahead of all others, claims to know "what Mum would have wanted",
and who then tries to ride roughshod over the will, the executor, and the family.
The corollary of Overbearing Relative is the relative who says things like
"a discrepancy", when what they really mean is "I think he misused his control of her money",
but isn't prepared to say so openly, or to face the inevitable conflict when they do.
The contra-corollary of both is the relative who doesn't believe that anyone
loved the deceased as much as they did, and that their belief is proven by
there being (in their mind) insufficient hysteria and wrending of garments.
- Grief because for some people, finalising an estate
is what brings home the hard reality that the person has actually died.
Lots of people, even seeming high-flyers, find that difficult.
- Greed, because, well, greed.
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