Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York

If a will was probated in Florida and then an ancillary probate was done in New York State, because there was property in New York State that the deceased person owned, can I as a Co-Executor of the will who lives in New York State, take the other Co-Executor who lives in Florida off the will as

Co-Executor because of possible financial elder abuse? How would I go about doing that?

The other Co-Executor is not being upfront about where money went that she took out from the deceased person's money market account. This Co-Executor did this while this person was still alive and ill and did it without this person's permission. She used her Power of Attorney to acquire that money. Her Power of Attorney gives her NO right to gift any of that money to herself or anyone else. That money should have been either used for the person who owned the money while she was alive or now it should be part of the estate. I am pretty sure she did NOT use any of this money in any way for the deceased person while she was still alive. Can the estate go after her for that money and if there is any left, can they have it put back into the estate where it belonged in the first place? Shouldn't the other Co-Executor be accountable for all that money to someone?? She won't tell me ANYTHING. All involved in this matter are family members.

I also had Power of Attorney at the same time. Both Power of Attorneys, hers and mine, were done in New York State. We were BOTH Power of Attorneys and we are both Co-Executors and beneficiaries of the will, but yet she gets all the money from that money market account that should have been part of the estate, and NO ONE knows what she did with it. Does that sound right? What can be done about this before the estate is settled? Please give some sort of direction on this. Thanks!


Asked on 2/11/11, 12:48 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Walter LeVine Walter D. LeVine, Esq.

I have not seen either POA, so I cannot express an opinion on what happened and why, during the decedent's lifetime. However, a holder of a POA has a fiduciary duty to the maker of the POA. If she acted improperly, she can be compelled to account for her activities and be forced to return or provide for anything she got or took improperly. She can also be ousted from the position of co-executor if she acted improperly.

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Answered on 2/13/11, 10:58 am


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