It's been 17 years and you're selling it now, when you happen to not be speaking to her? I don't know what your property rights are in Victoria, but I can tell you that you shouldn't do it. If you've hung onto it for that long, it obviously has some meaning for her, or you, or both. And that just adds weight to the 'don't sell it' argument.
If you do sell it, I can predict one of two things happening (regardless of whether you have the right to sell it):
1. You and your sister will reconcile, but she'll be angry at you for selling it - which will degrade your relationship; or
2. You and your sister will not reconcile, and she'll be throwing blame at you directly and through the family until the end of time.
Unless it's somehow going to change your life dramatically for the better by selling it, neither (1) nor (2) are worth it in my opinion.
You may take the "LawTap Verified Lawyer" banner on his profile pic as a good indicator that Rob is actually a lawyer.I am not sure if you are a lawyer...
Don't sell. Its not yours to sell, even after 17 years.I thought this site was for legal advice so Rob if you can't tell my legal rights than why answer so not professional. LMC
I joined this forum to get some professional advice on my rights as a person to property I am not sure if you are a lawyer but the reasons why I want sell the item and the circumstances to my relationship with my sister. I find this an unprofessional anwer for a lawyer those factors have no relevance to the rights I have. Thank you but making decisions in life are hard enough with out someone saying they are a lawyer trying to tell me what to do. I thought this site was for legal advice so Rob if you can't tell my legal rights than why answer so not professional. LMC
Just because someone tells you what you need to hear instead of what you want to hear doesn't mean you shouldn't listen with an open mind.
My comments were my professional advice. You can have whatever opinion of my advice that you want, just as I gave you my opinion of your situation. It doesn't affect me if you don't follow it. Any lawyer here will have at least a handful of stories about the advice they gave a client which wasn't followed. For what it's worth, I would tell the same thing if I was being paid for an opinion.
Sometimes when you're dealing with a client, you need to tell them, "You might have the right to do that, but it's not correct to do it." A good lawyer will give you that advice. It's why they train lawyers in ethics as well as law, because doing the right thing should always take precedence. What I see is that you've held onto something for 17 years, and now want to sell it because you're angry at her. You don't hang on to a burden for 17 years without doing something about it, so it's pretty clear this is more about the anger towards your sister than it is about the furniture. Whether you can legally sell it or not is irrelevant.
Improper use of a POA can be challenged in court. Preventing you from seeing your mother without sufficient reason is likely to be an improper purpose. Your problem is choosing between keeping the peace or standing up for your rights.
If your sister damages your property you can demand damages.