I have just been notified I am executor even though my sister is trying to close out the estate. She will only give me financials from after her death, and refuses to give me the will to file. Come to find out she sold everything, house,investments, life insurance and deposited it into her account. There isn’t even anything in an estate account for me to use to fight the will and questions wrong doings of the POA. I thought I had rights to all bank records as executor. The bank says I can’t even look before her death because now it is my sisters account. Can a judge order this?
Go to a probate attorney with the will that designated you as the Executor.
The attorney will check everything to make certain there is not a LATER will that changes everything, and that has been filed for probate.
You need to do this quickly.
And no, you have no rights, until you file probate and are listed as the executor to anything at all from any entity at all.
Banks will not show you anything involving your sister and your mother when she was alive. You cannot know what the POA, if sister was that, did with her POA, and how she is listed on the accounts. At the moment of death any POA rights end; however, if mother put your sister on the accounts as co-owner, then those accounts are her. Same if she put her on title and deed of the house.
I think you are lacking in understanding of things now that MUST be understood. Do get an attorney.
If you haven't yet, you need to establish Executorship with Probate. You will then get a short certificate allowing you to handle Moms Will and finances.
Get that lawyer. IMO you entitled to anything sister handled as POA especially if fraud can be established.
Second, the time to raise questions about the POA's activities was while your mother (?) was alive. Do you have evidence that your mom had dementia when your sister's name was added to her accounts? It's not that easy to do--and in some cases requires the principal to go to the bank, brokerage, etc. in person. Just having a POA document doesn't allow the POA holder to add their name to the principal's account. Did you have any idea what was going on with your mother while she was alive, e.g, what kind of care she needed, costs, etc.? How did you find out about the sale of house, investments, etc.--just now, after death, when you found out you are executor? POAs often have to sell everything so that care can be provided. In fact, in order to be eligible for Medicaid financially everything does have to be sold (spent down), except for a small amount. If the $$ from sale of assets were deposited into an account held jointly by your mom and sister, then that account becomes your sister's after mom dies if it was set up as joint with right of survival. I'm not saying joint accounts of a POA and the principal are a good idea--they are not--but I'm wondering if that might have been what's happened, and why the bank can't give you, as executor, access to that account now.
POA ceases with death, so I'm not sure what the legal mechanism would be to investigate potential malfeasance at this point.
Also, what does "around the clock opiates for 40 years" mean? Is your sister or the person with dementia that's been on opiates? And what does that have to do with your role as executor or the questions you are raising about your sister's activities as POA?
Someone "notified" you that you are the executor of your Mom's Will. Was this person an attorney? If so, they need to send you a copy of the Will. If it wasn't an attorney, then I don't know what to say about that. Who was the notifier?
The role of Executor doesn't go into effect until the moment your Mom passes. The PoA authority ends immediately upon her death.
If your Mom is still alive and you are indeed her Executor, then you've got nothing to do right now until she passes.
Also, apparently your sister has a copy of the Will but won't show it to you... this may indicate there may have never been a Will since she won't produce it for you to fullfill your responsibilities.
You may want to do some online research to learn more about what an Executor does so that you aren't blindsided when it's time to step up for the task.
Also, you will definitely need a copy of the Will, but not sure what your state rules are regarding when you need to have a copy (ie you may want a copy now but maybe legally you aren't required to have one until she passes).
"Can a POA have the primary add her name to all accounts when she has dementia?"
The PoA needs to activate the authority (this is usually 1 medical diagnosis of dementia by a doctor). After this, the PoA has the power to do what is outlined in the PoA document. Sometimes the principal (your Mom) can give the PoA a lot of latitude to do things: buy and sell real estate, make investments, etc. Your sister might have sold what she did to pay for your Mom's ongoing care.
Who gave you the information that she sold your Mom's things and put it into her (your sister's?) account? Is your Mom telling you this stuff? If so please understand that someone with dementia can be very confused and create confabulations that are partially or wholly untrue. So, who are you getting this info from?
Your Mom being on "round the clock opiods for 40 years" may not have anything to do with this situation if she never had a diagnosis of incapacity before she had dementia (and I'm assuming she hasn't had dementia for 40 years).
"The bank says I can’t even look before her death because now it is my sisters account. Can a judge order this?" Your sister is probably joint on your Mom's accounts so that she can legally manage them. No, a judge would not rule in your favor since you have now power in the current situation. Your sister is not even legally obligated to show you the PoA document. This is where you can hire an attorney to pressure her to show she is actually the PoA. On your nickel.
More information to clarify your questions would be helpful.
OK--so you were called by the former POA (your sister) and she gave you "a figure"--a figure for what or of what? And you asked her for the will for your own "inheritance concerns." You came to find out (from your sister the POA?) that you are co-executor. She won't give you the will, so accounts can't be "released" to the executors. Who is the other executor? Is it this same sister who was POA? Executors usually need to file the will with their town or county to get a document appointing them as executor(s) (sometimes called personal representative). Nothing can be done to disburse funds to those named in the will until all assets are accounted for, last bills are paid, etc. Then, the executor disburses funds in accordance with the will. You really need to consult a lawyer as you seem to be confused about the process and your role in it.
From what you've said in your clarifying post, you were the caregiver and that suggests that mom was not in a facility where her funds were paying for her care. If you were with mom, you should have a pretty good idea of what her expenses were and the bills your POA sister was paying. Do you also know what assets your mom had? You mentioned your sister/POA selling mom's house. When did that happen? You are making assumptions about what your sister, the POA, did with your mom's money and accounts, but I'm not sure what concrete evidence you may have. If your mom were alive, her POA would be under no obligation to share any of mom's finances with anyone, and is in fact obligated not to. POA ceases at death, but she's still not under any obligation to share pre-death financial information with anyone.