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[dickens93]

Legal question, Power of Attorney verses will?
Life insurance beneficiary verses will and power of attorney?
A female friend married for 29 years, now separated and diagnosed with bone cancer. Everyone is after her life insurance. The other day, her uncle paid for attorney fees and rushed her to have her sign a will and full power of attorney. She had also just left the Doctors office on powerful medications and has no idea what it was she signed. She is gullible and trusted the uncle believing he was protecting her but now regrets signing now that she is aware of what she had signed. Unknowing to her, everything is now in the uncles name, the one she trusted most. He is now the executor of estate and it mentions his name in the will as the beneficiary of her life insurance even though she had someone else appointed on the policy. In the state of Alabama, what should she do?
1-Can he change her insurance beneficiary?
2-Should she acquire her own attorney with a new will and power of attorney to protect her interest?
3-Should she file for divorce or should she wait for her husband to file?
3-Is her SSI check safe from the uncle with full general/durable power of attorney?

Her family is concerned only about her money.
This is an awful mess and looking for any sound advice. Thank you,,

[gideon]

http://helpguide.org/mental/elder_abuse_physical_emotional_sexual_neglect.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_of_attorney

http://www.ehow.com/facts_6885545_power-attorney-social-security.html

Here are some sites for you to read and help your friend understand what is going on.

You need to have your friend sit down and make out a list. This should include all of her assets, personal or financial. She needs to determine who should get what when she dies.

In Arizona, this is a community property state, so "technically' her husband would be entitled to 1/2 of her estate, so she needs to think out, does he want to file for divorce or just wait till after she dies so anything she has maybe transferred to him; ie; home in joint names;

The will and life insurance are totally different issues. The life insurance company will only pay who is the beneficiary on the policy period. Does not matter what the will says, only who she has designated as the beneficiary. Most likely she has her current husband as the beneficiary, but if the uncle had her sign forms changing him to the beneficiary, then he would get the proceeds. She needs to call them and verify who is listed and if she wants changed, they can easily fax/mail forms for her to change to the person she wants to receive the proceeds.

The power of attorney could go against her if somehow he can validate that she is not mentally able to handle her finances and/or her medical decisions. Sometimes in most hospitals, you need a separate medical power of attorney who decides if you are unable to, to make medical decisions and/or treatment. Does she want a DNR, (do not resuscitate) or how does she want her illness to be handled? Does she trust her uncle to make the right decisions on her health?

Either way, she needs to talk to a lawyer asap about her legal rights. I suggest that you as a friend go along and write down your questions and also the answers on how she needs to proceed. At that time, the lawyer can also advise if she should file for divorce or not, or if he files, what would be the consequences. But make sure when you have this appointment, if possible she is not under the influence of heavy medications, which maybe difficult with her bone cancer.

She needs to bring a copy of the new will so they can get a new will with her wishes and revoke the prior will. If she cannot afford a lawyer, check into legal aid for help.

good luck

[tupac]

I could suggest many options,but the best one is for her to hire a new attorney and have all recent contracts considered null and void.

[muireach]

I could suggest many options,but the best one is for her to hire a new attorney and have all recent contracts considered null and void.

Power of attorney ends with her death but until then he might be free to "steal" all her assets and trick her into making him beneficiary of her life insurance. After her death the will prevails but the life insurance proceeds go directly to the named beneficiaries unless she stipulated that they become part of her estate.

If sounds like you need to get your own lawyer and have her declared incompetent when she gave her uncle power of attorney and made him executor. It will be much easier now while she can be questioned by a judge rather than after her death.