Family not informed of death.

[Skateboard]

My mother in law passed away in a nursing home, while she was there she was visited by my wife. She passed away and was cremated 6 days later. My brother who had power of attorney didn’t tell other family members that she died and family members only found out later when they went to the nursing home to visit. Her husband And her children were devastated. Is there any action we can take. He will not give a reason for not telling us about her death.

 

[Tim W]

To "punish" him, or, to compensate you, for not telling you... no.
What you want to worry about is that he will be stealing her assets and keeping the proceeds.
For that, you have options, but you'll need formal case specific legal advice.

 

[Skateboard]

My mother in law passed away in a nursing home, while she was there she was visited by my wife. She passed away and was cremated 6 days later. My brother who had power of attorney didn’t tell other family members that she died and family members only found out later when they went to the nursing home to visit. Her husband And her children were devastated. Is there any action we can take. He will not give a reason for not telling us about her death.

 

[Skateboard]

To "punish" him, or, to compensate you, for not telling you... no.
What you want to worry about is that he will be stealing her assets and keeping the proceeds.
For that, you have options, but you'll need formal case specific legal advice.

I checked and her investment property has been listed for sale since she passed! I don’t know if she made a will or not. She was very I’ll and suffered from paranoid schizophrenia for decades and cancer. He wanted to sell everything before anyone found out she died. Are you in Melbourne.

 

[Tim W]

I'm in Sydney.
But there are several Melbourne-based lawyers here who will be more than happy to help you out.
You may care to keyword search "power of attorney" among earlier posts for other useful information.

 

[Skateboard]

Hi, my father in law emailed the solicitor asking for a copy of the will but he said he didn’t keep a copy even though he filed it at the Super Court about 5 weeks ago. He will just have to wait until the Supreme Courts copy comes through. Thanks for your advice.

 

[Martalley]

That's a tough situation, mate. Family matters can be really complicated. Your brother's decision not to inform the family about your mother-in-law's passing must have been incredibly challenging for everyone involved.
On a somewhat related note, recent events in my family have got me thinking about my own end-of-life plans. Asking for a ceremony in a crematory is one option I've been considering. It's all about making choices that align with our values, even though it's not the most pleasant topic to discuss. Take care during these trying times.