Mother went against my decision
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Mother went against my decision
I gave my mother power of attorney while I was in treatment at the VA to sell my house and land. I changed my mind and decided not to sell after all and directed her to stop but she went ahead against my wishes. Now I am homeless.
Asked on February 4, 2018 under Estate Planning, Mississippi
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
You could have stopped her at any time: the agent (the person given power by a POA) cannot override her principal's (the person giving her the power) wishes. You could have revoked her power at any time.
The above is for future reference: no that you can cancel an agent's power when you like. (You would execute a new document in the same style as a POA, stating that you revoke the power given to the person, then send copies of that to that person and anyone she is then dealing with.) What you can do now is sue your mother: an agent has a duty to act in her principal's best interests and in accordance with the principal's wishes or instructions. If she violated that duty and acted against your wishes or instructions, you can sue her for any losses, costs, or other harm you suffered, for breach of her fiduciary duty (duty of loyalty and care). For example, if she did not turn over all the money from sale, you could sue her for that; if he sold the house for too little to a friend, associate, etc. you could sue her for the difference in price; if you are incurring higher monthly costs now to rent someplace to live, sue her for those costs; etc.
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