Almost everyone who has a will has also designated a person (an agent or “attorney-in-fact”) to act under a power of attorney. Powers of attorney are powerful documents that can be abused—agents acting under powers of attorney have the ability to make gifts of property to themselves and act on behalf of their principal (the person who signed the power of attorney) to the agent’s own advantage. In many situations, agents fail to document their actions.
A principal, a principal’s heirs or executor, or a principal’s guardian can sue agents who abuse these powers.
Much like wills and trusts, the validity of powers of attorney may be challenged.
At Ikard Law PC, we represent parties to these disputes on a regular basis.