All in the Family: Another Power of Attorney Nightmare

Back in December I wrote that I had spoken with a cohort of seniors about their estate plans and noted their anxiety about the process of transmitting wealth to their adult kids. They want it all to work out. They understand they might have more than they need. But, they’re worried and yesterday’s Estate of Diane Hawkins illustrates why.

Diane Hawkins was living on her own in a small South Philadelphia home in 2021 when she suffered a stroke. She then moved into the home of her daughter and provided that child with a power of attorney. Daughter Mistey Holmes sold her mom’s residence using her power for $140,000 in early 2022.

A year later, Ms. Hawkins hired an attorney who issued a revocation of the power of attorney and a demand to find out what happened to the proceeds from the home sale.  There was no response. Mother Hawkins next filed in Orphans’ Court to demand that the proceeds from the home sale be accounted for. The allegation was that Hawkins thought she signed a medical power and not one to manage assets. Again, the daughter did not respond. The house proceeds had briefly been put in a joint account but daughter later drained that account, putting the money in accounts of her own.

Time travels slowly in Orphans’ Courts. Ms. Hawkins filed for relief in March 2023. The matter came to a hearing in November 2024. For 20 months matters just sat. When the hearing got underway, Ms. Hawkins was not certain whether she signed the power of attorney proffered in court. Moreover, it seems the contract to sell the house was signed by Hawkins although she said she did not wish to sell it. Ms.  Holmes produced a home health care aid who said Hawkins told her she (Hawkins) had sold the house.

That makes for an interesting controversy. People who suffer strokes or simply grow old often don’t recall things. They also can have unrealistic expectations about how and when they will recover and resume independent living. But, then there’s the nettlesome matter of the $126,000 in sale proceeds. That money was nowhere to be found.

The Court ordered the daughter to pay back the $126,000 and $7,500 in attorney’s fees for failure to respond to orders to account for the money. Daughter appealed. She alleged her mother was incompetent. The problem with that is she never asserted incapacity prior to the adjudication. It does seem that who sold the house and by what authority is not clear. What is clear and produced a denial of the appeal was the disappearance of the home sale proceeds. The counsel fee portion of the award was remanded because the trial court did not indicate what statute or rule it relied upon in granting attorney’s fees.

The facts here are somewhat sketchy. We don’t see reference to the listing agreement, the agreement of sale or the signed documents customarily issued at real estate closing. We didn’t read about the origin of the “joint” account or what became of the sale proceeds. But, one lesson seems clear. If you are a realtor, a bank branch manager or anyone else who is working with someone wielding a plenary power of attorney, you may want to ask some questions about how this power came about. Otherwise, you may find yourself camped in a judicial hallway with a subpoena, a $20 witness fee and some “attitude” about how you got mixed up with folks like this.

The case:  J-S08013-26m – 106804823360990915.pdf