Can I fight my grandpa’s power of attorney about evicting me from his home?
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Can I fight my grandpa’s power of attorney about evicting me from his home?
My aunt tricked my GPA and put him in a nursing home. He owns his house and has a lot of money in savings. Now she claims she’s doing what she directed to do. By who I don’t know cause he planned on dying in his house and I living here until then. She has not liked me here since day one. But he got free care and I have a home. Now she is trying to evict me. Not what he wanted. Days prior he refused to kick me out and wasn’t going to any home. She invited him to lunch and never brought him home. She is acting on her wishes not his.
Asked on November 29, 2016 under Estate Planning, California
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 8 years ago | Contributor
If your aunt has authority under a power of attorney (the "power of attorney" is the document; your aunt, receiving power under it, is the "attorney-in-fact" or "agent"), then she has the legal authority to evict you. (Assuming this is a relatively standard power of attorney, which wojld give her the authority to act in regards to his property as he could, so since he could evict you, she can, too.) You could potentially try to challenge the POA and show that it is invalid by showing that she is acting in her own interest and/or against his interests, since the agent has to act for her principal's benefit (your grandfather, who granted her the power, is the principal). But it's not enough to show that she "despises" you--that is irrelevant. If there is some reasonable reason for her to remove you from his home--for example, to avoid effectively paying to support someone living there rent free, who no longer is neccessary to take care of your grandfather, since he does not live there anymore; to prepare the house to be be sold or rented out; etc.--you are unlikely to win. Only if you can essentially show that this action is bad for your grandfather and against what is good for him can you expect to have a chance to overturn the POA. In addition, such a legal action is complex and you'd likely need an attorney to help you--which means you'd have to pay for a lawyer, and do so when it is far from guaranteed that you'd win.
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