Not sure if anyone can help with this. But I would welcome any suggestions.
My Aunt passed away this past week. She had one child (my cousin), who is scraping by and challenged by financial matters generally. Prior to her passing, my aunt was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and transferred to an appropriate facility in town, where she recently had a stroke and passed rather quickly. She was in the facility for about two years total.
Prior to that--and prior to being diagnosed with Alzheimer's, my aunt gave financial POA to some close friends of hers (mostly because my cousin was overwhelmed and not interested in or able to take on my aunt's financial matters). The friends (a husband and wife couple who lived next door) were to manage her finances in my aunt's interests naturally.
At the funeral my cousin told me that the friends passed off all the financial documentation to her, and she obtained a copy of the will, which made her the executor for the estate. (The POA, of course, terminated with my aunt's passing.)
Here's the question. After my aunt was transferred to the care facility, the friends felt the need to sell her home (presumably to minimize expenses and ensure a cash reserve for anticipated care costs that might be incurred in the future). The sale was rather rushed, and my cousin was given less time than she would have liked to go through her parents possessions (her father--my uncle--passed a year or two before all this happened). It ended up that the individual purchasing the property was the brother of the husband who held the POA. My concern is that this may have been a sweetheart deal. (And my cousin is concerned as well and asked me for my input on the matter.)
In looking at what I can find online, it appears the purchase price was $273,000. The county records list the fair market value as $411,000 and Zillow lists a fair market value estimate of between $387-$477k.
As I help my cousin sort through the financial matters, is there any case to be made that the friends made a below-market sale that was not in the interests of my aunt (and cousin)? Is it worth getting an attorney involved, and how might that unfold? Any thought or suggestions would be very welcome.
Note: I don't think anyone wants to contest my aunt's decision to give POA to the friends on the grounds that she might not have been of sound mind at the time of making that decision. My cousin was thankful that the friends were willing to take this on.
My Aunt passed away this past week. She had one child (my cousin), who is scraping by and challenged by financial matters generally. Prior to her passing, my aunt was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and transferred to an appropriate facility in town, where she recently had a stroke and passed rather quickly. She was in the facility for about two years total.
Prior to that--and prior to being diagnosed with Alzheimer's, my aunt gave financial POA to some close friends of hers (mostly because my cousin was overwhelmed and not interested in or able to take on my aunt's financial matters). The friends (a husband and wife couple who lived next door) were to manage her finances in my aunt's interests naturally.
At the funeral my cousin told me that the friends passed off all the financial documentation to her, and she obtained a copy of the will, which made her the executor for the estate. (The POA, of course, terminated with my aunt's passing.)
Here's the question. After my aunt was transferred to the care facility, the friends felt the need to sell her home (presumably to minimize expenses and ensure a cash reserve for anticipated care costs that might be incurred in the future). The sale was rather rushed, and my cousin was given less time than she would have liked to go through her parents possessions (her father--my uncle--passed a year or two before all this happened). It ended up that the individual purchasing the property was the brother of the husband who held the POA. My concern is that this may have been a sweetheart deal. (And my cousin is concerned as well and asked me for my input on the matter.)
In looking at what I can find online, it appears the purchase price was $273,000. The county records list the fair market value as $411,000 and Zillow lists a fair market value estimate of between $387-$477k.
As I help my cousin sort through the financial matters, is there any case to be made that the friends made a below-market sale that was not in the interests of my aunt (and cousin)? Is it worth getting an attorney involved, and how might that unfold? Any thought or suggestions would be very welcome.
Note: I don't think anyone wants to contest my aunt's decision to give POA to the friends on the grounds that she might not have been of sound mind at the time of making that decision. My cousin was thankful that the friends were willing to take this on.
Statistics: Posted by Wisco22 — Sat Jan 04, 2025 2:20 pm — Replies 0 — Views 48