She has been in a nursing home for the past 2 1/2 yrs and I have only had Power of Attorney since Dec 2021. I just recently found out that the mail is being delivered to her previous home and there is a squatter living on the property that has been opening her mail. This was brought to my attention by the County Accessor in her town when she called me to tell me he brought in a note saying he had an agreement with my sister to stay on the property to clean it up, he also had her SSA 1099 form for 2021 opened. My sister confirmed she doesn't know this person. My nephew was living on the property when my sister suffered her stroke, and let this guy onto the property. 1 1/2 yrs ago my nephew split and not sure if he came back or not. Called Sheriff's dept. and they were absolutely no help what so ever. Pretty much said there wasn't much I could do because my nephew let him on the property. I know it's a federal offense to open someone else's mail but the deputy said the government wouldn't do anything. I don't know how to go about getting her mail sent to me since I'm in a different state then she is. I'm so frustrated!!
Thanks for any advice or help.
"In the state of Washington, squatters can legally make a claim of ownership to lands or real estate through adverse possession. Adverse possession is a legal doctrine that allows someone who possesses another person’s property for a certain amount of time to legally claim ownership of it... Unlike many other states, property owners in Washington can remove squatters simply by involving the police. To do this, they need to provide the police with a declaration form."
See more at source: https://tsquareproperties.net/squatters-rights-wa
Time matters in squatting. The squatter probably knows what he's doing so get on it right away.
However, some states will deem you an owner if you pay the property taxes for a certain number of years. That sounds like what is happening here.
Mail will only be forwarded for a set amount of time so contact any bank or other account holder (insurance?) to change her address permanently.
We made me POA for him and Trustee of Trust. He was not across states, but was across MY state in that I live NoCal and he lived SoCal.
What I did was sign on as POA to all accounts, and I did everything from them while he kept an account we created with a small amount for her personal spending. I then had EVERY SINGLE entity made to send bills and everything to my place. That meant sending every single one a copy of all my paperwork for POA and TRustee. That meant that SS and IRS and Medicare demand DIFFERENT stuff to let you manage things, not just your POA and Trustee of Trust. I managed his phone bill (luckily no cable and computer for him), and any bills until his small place was sold.
It took a solid year to set in place and STILL there were CONSTANT problems including the day that Spectrum cut off his phone for no known reason and it took from 1030a.m. to 4:30pm to get it set back up by phone, talking to every state in the union I swear and a few countries.
It was, in short a nightmare, and after is small home sold there was not even property to deal with.
My brother was well enough to talk to Social Security with me, to arrange copies of things sent to me, and to medicare. And to speak on phone to OK things. I had to make at least three trips by him to get ID work done when he changed license to ID, to get voter stuff sent to him, but much else sent to me, to arrange post office stuff. In short, I could never never do this again.
You are basically going, in my opinion, to have to deal with every entity as I did, one at a time. Have a good computer, printer, and pray you don't need fax.
I would, in another life, asked to do this, recommend a fiduciary to my brother. His ex is still living though he is incapacitated mentally and physically and has no one to serve for him, does have a fiduciary licensed and accredited by California Professional Fiduciary Assn. He charged between 90.00 and 110.00 an hour. In simple estate and once things are set up (which can run several thousand) it amounts to about an hour month for cost.
So sorry to be a bummer, and hope others had better ideas that worked for them. But this is JUST the sort of thing you run into, what you are running into now, and it takes hours and hours of anxious frustration to settle each and every thing.
I wish you the very best of luck. Hope you will update us as you go forward in how you handle things; it will help others.
Under another thread today someone is speaking of Geriatric Case Managers who can be hired. I don't know how all that works, so plead ignorance and hope others have ideas for you.
W/o doing any research, you might have to institute some type of eviction proceeding to get this squatter out.
If the real estate is still titled in your sister's name, you might also explore the concept of shutting off all utilities.
As to the mail, contact your local post office and/or contact the Postmaster General. In the meantime, notify all of her contacts, creditors, etc. that her mail has been compromised and you're in the process of correcting the issues. You could include a copy of the executed POA as support documentation.
You might also have to provide documentation reflecting her residence in the nursing home.
With some of the correspondents, e.g. the Social Security people, you should be able to deal direct using your POA.
With the others, use the USPS option and have all mail sent to the Nursing Home. Then give the NH a regular supply of large, stamped, self-addressed envelopes and ask them to forward all business/official mail to you. A 2+ year relationship should be long enough for them to be happy to do this for a resident, because they know it's all above board and they've seen your POA.
Don't know your eviction requirements for your state so call a local attorney or hire a property manager to get the job done. If you work with a property manager you might be able hire them to watch the place. Also Insurance company's get all excited with a house that is vacant too long so find a legitimate renter.
You have her POA and she gave it to your for a reason. You have ALL the power you need to get things done.