stopping brother with power-of-attorney from selling real estate?

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida

I was wondering...my mother is on her deathbed and my brother, who currently holds power-of-attorney, is trying to quickly sell a piece of property thats been in the family for 25 years on a time table that i don't agree with.

do i have any recourse in blocking this sale?

thanks for reading...

fungusAmongus said:

do i have any recourse in blocking this sale?

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Assuming your mother is the owner and the POA gives your brother authority for such, the answer is No.

You can always buy it.

thank you for you quick reply...not what i wanted to hear, but thanks anyway

Do you why he is so fired up to sell the property?

Find out if your mother agrees to the sale. Is she mentally competentnow, and was she when she granted him the POA? And talk to a family law attorney to find out if your state has laws on the books regarding abuse of power of attorney, if in fact that occurs.

The scopes of POA

Typically fall under 2 types medical and financial. A person whom holds both can be challenged by family-however with proper POA documentation those opposing will have practically no recourse. Unless shown that he is abusing those powers for financial gain. The heirs to the estate have rights to the proceedings of the property. That is with the understanding that the individual has not changed heirs, as he may have the right to do.

anteater said:

Do you why (know) he is so fired up to sell the property?

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He, unlike me, never really became emotionally attached to it...it's a gorgeous condo in the heart of Chicago, my mom's hometown, and i loved going to the city..

Now, he just sees it as an expense (its paid for, but has a significant monthly maint. fee) and wants to get it off our books ASAP...all im asking for is to wait two months...hardly unreasonable.

On the face of it, it doesn't appear that the brother is violating (or intending to violate) his fiduciary responsibilities. In which case, we fall back to ShyCat's original response:

Assuming your mother is the owner and the POA gives your brother authority for such, the answer is No.

You can always buy it.

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Unless your mother still has sufficient mental competence to revoke or amend the POA.

What happens to the property when your mother passes away? Devised to you and your siblings? If it is, it might have to sold anyway if you and the others cannot agree to be happy co-owners.

There's a lot of "depending upons" attached to this thought... But there might be some tax advantages to not selling now. Like if your mother resided there for 2 out of the last 5 years. The cost basis and possible selling price. The potential value of her estate.