Power Of Attorney

[POL]

1.Ohio
2. Do you have to sign anything to become a power of attorney in Ohio? Mother had my sister and I become her's. We never signed anything!
3. Mom had a life estate created for her home and had my name and my sister's name mentioned. No real estate transfer.(since then my sister had her name removed because she doesn't feel comfortable ) Now the taxes come with my name and mom's with the words "life estate " next to her's. I will gladly take care of things, but it is legal to have someone become responsible for a parent's property without ever being officially made aware of the possible financial burden. What if the child was blatantly not interested, or due to their own financial situation wasn't able to take on any more responsibility.

 

[ALawyer]

You in theory can appoint George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and/or Osama the Horrible as your power of attorney. That merely authorizes them to act in your stead.

The mere fact that you may have appointed them does NOT give them any duty or obligation to act. If they have signed someting in connection with their appointment agreing to serve, that could be different.

As far as the power of attorney is concerned, your mother has made a gift to you of the property, reserving for herself a life estate. That gives her the right to continue to live there, or rent out the place for her lifetime.

As the life tenant, she also has the duty to maintain the premises, pay taxes, etc, but NOT to make capital improvements. Now I don't know how her state or municipality treats the fee owner (you) vs. life tenants should there be something wrong. If she didn't pay property taxes, you would not be obligated to pay, but the state or city could slap a tax lien on the property and eventually foreclose. And that might reverberate in terms of your credit card.

When Mom dies, you become responsible. Of course if she continued to hold the property in her own name and died, her estate would take on these obligations until the property was transferred to her beneficiaries at law if she left no Will, or those named in a Will. So you'd be in ythe same place. On edifference would be taxes.

As she made a gift you take over HER tax basis (what she paid for the property, plus the cost on improvements, and possibly any whole or partial step up in basis to its value of when a co-owner (such as your dad) died. Thus when you sell it there may be capital gains tax to pay. If she held it at death, the basis of the property would have been stepped up to its value at that date.