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I am an adopted (only) child who's mother a few years ago died. My
father was soon after that looking on the Internet for a woman. Long
story short, he found one and married her. I had a strained
relationship with him during that time and now (were not really
talking) and now I received, via certified mail and his lawyer a
"Revocation of Power of Attorney", requesting me to sign as an
acknowledgement.
First question, is this complete rejection? I was his executor last I
knew. Does this probibly mean I am not now or is this just because his
wife should be for medical purposes?
They live in colorado now. If he dies and does not name me in the will
can I contest the will? --My grandmother has a significant inheritance.
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rcunningham8...@yahoo.com wrote:
I am an adopted (only) child who's mother a few years ago died. My
father was soon after that looking on the Internet for a woman. Long
story short, he found one and married her. I had a strained
relationship with him during that time and now (were not really
talking) and now I received, via certified mail and his lawyer a
"Revocation of Power of Attorney", requesting me to sign as an
acknowledgement.
First question, is this complete rejection?
"Complete", in and of itself? No. Does it revoke any previously
granted powers of attorney your father may have given you? Yes.
I was his executor last I
knew. Does this probibly mean I am not now or is this just because
his
wife should be for medical purposes?
You're comparing apples and oranges. A "power of attorney" has
nothing to do with being named executor of someone's will. The power
of attorney is a document that is only effective during the person's
lifetime (or until revoked by the grantor), and basically allows you to
"step into that person's shoes" to run some or all of his financial
affairs (or, in the case of a "medical power of attorney", which is yet
another different kind of animal, make medical care decisions for that
person) as if you _were_ that person insofar as third parties you might
be dealing with are concerned. A person, while alive, may grant
different powers of attorney to different people, at the same time or
different times, for a variety of purposes, and can revoke any of them
at any time. The revocation is only effective as to the holder of the
power when the grantor gives notice to the holder, else the holder
would be able to continue in good faith to exercise it, not knowing any
better. The certified mail letter you got was his notice to you that
the power of attorney he had previously granted you were being revoked,
and his asking you to acknowledge receipt of the notice is just that,
an acknowledgement that you received it. You have no legal effect
whether or not the power of attorney has been revoked if you refuse to
sign -- all you will do if you don't cooperate is tick your father off
and make it _more_ likely he will lose faith in you to act for him in
other ways (if he hasn't done that already, which we don't know yet,
from the facts in your post).
Being the "executor" of a will is something that only "kicks in" after
the person dies, and then only with the approval of the appropriate
court or registrar of wills. The fact that your father asked you to
acknowledge his revocation of a previously granted power of attorney
has nothing to do with whether you are still nominated in his will as
primary executor. He may have, indeed probably did, write a new will
after his recent marriage; that doesn't necessarily mean he changed his
mind about having you as executor but at least it gave him the logical
opportunity to re-think who he wanted in that job. You could, of
course, ask him if you are still the one he wants to act as executor of
his will, if you think he would tell you; but he has no obligation to
do so, or to reveal any of the other contents of his will to you,
unless and until it is admitted to probate.
They live in colorado now. If he dies and does not name me in the
will
can I contest the will?
You're crossing an awful lot of bridges here before you come to them.
Why don't you wait and see? But generally, it is only the current
spouse of a decedent who has any right to claim a statutory share of an
estate even if the will reduces her share or completely cuts her out --
that may require her to make an "election" (choice) between the share
she would have gotten under the will and the statutory "widow's share".
Children, however, adopted or otherwise, legit or not, generally can
be "disowned" in a will and completely cut out of any inheritance from
that decedent, if the will is properly worded to do so. If and when
that sad eventuality happens to you, you ought to take the exact
language of the will to a lawyer (YOUR lawyer that you pick for this
purpose, not the lawyer who is representing the Estate of your dead
dad) and see whether you have any recourse.
--My grandmother has a significant inheritance.
Which has nothing to do with what you might get from your _father_.
Assuming your grandma is still alive, when she dies her property will
be distributed according to _her_ will, and if she names you as one of
her beneficiaries, there is nothing your father can do to cut you out
of grandma's will.
If OTOH grandma already died and left all her assets to dad, then it's
his now, not grandma's; so it is up to dad whether you get any of that
or not. And as a little friendly suggestion, your chances of getting
any of that would probably be improved if you just (1) continue to try
to be a loving and caring son (and be nice to his wife, your
"stepmother") and (2) _not_ seem like you are eager to have him kick
off so you can get your share of the moolah.
--
This posting is for discussion purposes, not professional advice.
Anything you post on this Newsgroup is public information.
I am not your lawyer, and you are not my client in any specific legal
matter.
For confidential professional advice, consult your own lawyer in a
private communication.
Mike Jacobs
LAW OFFICE OF W. MICHAEL JACOBS
10440 Little Patuxent Pkwy #300
Columbia, MD 21044
(tel) 410-740-5685 (fax) 410-740-4300
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On Mon, 02 May 2005 20:37:11 -0400, rcunningham8820@yahoo.com wrote:
...now I received, via certified mail [from my father's] lawyer a
"Revocation of Power of Attorney", requesting me to sign as an
acknowledgement.
First question, is this complete rejection? I was his executor last I
knew. Does this probibly mean I am not now or is this just because his
wife should be for medical purposes?
There are two types of power of attorney. One is a general power of
attorney, which essentially authorizes one person to do anything on
another's behalf at the other person can do for himself (or could do
if competent). The other is a special power of attorney, which conveys
only a specified type of authority, such as authority to make medical
decisions, or to manage investments, or to prosecute a patent
application.
You haven't said which type of power of attorney is involved here. If
it's special, you haven't said what powers it confers. You haven't
said whether it's conditional, and if so, what the conditions are. No
one can answer your question because you haven't disclosed enough
information to make it clear what you are asking.
So much for the legalities. Now, when you ask "is this a complete
rejection?" that sounds an awful lot like a question for a therapist
or a minister/priest/rabbi, not an attorney. Forgive me if I'm reading
too much into your post, but it seems to me that this legal request
has stirred up some very powerful emotional stuff for you, and that's
what really has you concerned.
I'm an attorney and not a therapist, so maybe I shouldn't even try to
answer your question. But I've had a father a lot longer than I had an
attorney's license, so I'm going to try. At least, I'm going to tell
you what I would do if I were in your position.
I would call my father's attorney back and tell him that I'm willing
to sign the acknowledgment if that is my father's wish, but first I
want to understand exactly what is being revoked and why. The attorney
can tell you what, but don't let him try to tell you why. Your father
has to tell you that. After you have called the attorney, call your
father. Or have the attorney put you in touch with him or put him in
touch with you or whatever.
You'll have to write your game plan for the talk with your father,
because you know the history and you know what you want from him. Or
if you don't know, you're the only person who can figure it out. I'm
pretty sure you want something, or you would have just shrugged and
signed the acknowledgment and opened the next piece of mail.
You have no assurance that this will turn out well. Perhaps your
father will refuse to talk to you or will refuse to give a response
you consider satisfactory. In that case, sign the acknowledgment and
move on. You can't force your father to be a father, or to be the type
of father you want. If it is difficult for you to do this (and I know
for darn sure that it would be difficult for me), by all means seek
out a counselor of whatever type you think is most appropriate for
you.
My email address is LLM041103 at earthlink dot net.
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You haven't said which type of power of attorney is involved here. If
it's special, you haven't said what powers it confers. You haven't
said whether it's conditional, and if so, what the conditions are. No
one can answer your question because you haven't disclosed enough
information to make it clear what you are asking.
I was never given paperwork in the first place when I was made POA so I
don't know those details. This letter was just an acknowledgement of
being revoked.
has stirred up some very powerful emotional stuff for you, and that's
what really has you concerned.
I made it THAT obvious? :O) (Of course I know that I did).
I did send him a letter May 3rd and told him I was surprized to have
gotten the notice and was sorry he had made that decision (he had named
his brother successor trustee "under the circumstances"). These
circumstances were simply how we were reacting to his
behaviour--chasing women around the Internet right after my mom died
and not spending quality time with his grandchildren. The real key is
what you said 'You can't force your father to be a father' so I'll just
concentrate on being the very best father I can be to my kids.
Thank you for your post!
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You're crossing an awful lot of bridges here before you come to them.
Why don't you wait and see?
Your right
And as a little friendly suggestion, your chances of getting
any of that would probably be improved if you just (1) continue to
try
to be a loving and caring son (and be nice to his wife, your
"stepmother") and (2) _not_ seem like you are eager to have him kick
off so you can get your share of the moolah.
Hear me out here, I'm not worried about the money but this woman didn't
want to marry my dad until she went to visit my Grandmother and found
out she was rich, then mysteriously she wanted to get married. When
I asked her why she wanted to marry my dad she couldn't tell me.
Simple
answer would have been 'because I love him' but she never said that.
She's
not even an american citizen and stands to gain from being married to
one.
But anyway you have given me valuable answeres and even though I've
been
emotional about this whole thing, in the end I'll just wait and see.
Thanks for your post.
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