QLD Power of Attorney Syphoning Off Money

[Bozzo]

Hello
My two brothers and my son are executives and power of attorney for my mother who lives in a self contained unit in an old peoples establishment.
She is quite wealthy owning some assets,one asset she lives off the money she is paid every year from a mining adventure on the property,which keeps her well looked after. She has been generous over the many years in giving large amounts of money away to my two brothers and my son and daughter,I am a blacksheep and have never seen a cent. My mother's memory has been fading for sometime and the last couple of months she has been very confused and her memory is not good at all.My son rang me recently and told me that one son had been to her place and had taken her cheque book and a copy of her will.This son is not mentioned in the will as he has received very large amounts of money from her in the past 2 years and a property. My son tells me he went to her bank and was told that one of her smaller investments had matured and there was only a few thousand left in that bank account.Where do we stand if this brother has got my mother to sign a cheque for his benefit,knowing she would of forgotten she has even done so.As mentioned above my two brothers and my son are power of Attorneys,when does the power of attorneys take over so this practise of one of them stops getting his mother to sign cheques in his favour.Is it too late to do something about the cheque my mother signed in this one brothers favour.Thanking you.

 

[Michael T]

They could try to cancel the cheque. Ultimately, they will need to monitor her finances more closely. Also, if the brother is an attorney, you can seek to have his power of attorney can be revoked, and investigated by the Public Guardian. See Power of attorney | Your rights, crime and the law | Queensland Government

 

[Sophea]

Hi Bozzo,

Where do we stand if this brother has got my mother to sign a cheque for his benefit,knowing she would of forgotten she has even done so.

An Attorney who is granted power over another person's finances owes fiduciary duties which requires them to act in the best interest of the principal at all times. This means your brother and the other attorneys she has appointed, are required to give priority to the interests of your mother where there is a conflict between interests. There are serious consequences for breaching a fiduciary duty.

Do you know whether your mother appointed her attorneys jointly, or jointly and severally? This will affect whether they can each make decisions on their own or whether they all have to act in unison. I would get your son (as an attorney) to request a record of accounts of the investments that he is suspect about, or a full accounting of all financial records to investigate what is going on. He doesn't have to do it in an accusatory fashion, just say that he would like to know what's going on since he is in a position of responsibility for his grandmother.

Ultimately you may need to bring legal action to revoke his power of attorney and go after any assets he has absconded with. If do you find evidence of theft on his part I would have your mother or your son on her behalf speak with a lawyer about her options.