? re POA acting as trustee, etc

[Green Jeans]

My 79 year old widowed mom was suddenly incapacitated by a stroke 1/14/2009. I''ve been running like basic headless chicken since then (my one sib winters out of state) visiting/preparing to bring her to our home when skilled rehab medicare coverage runs out. She has good LTC insurance, but hates nursing home environment, so we're going to try to make it work at our home.

My mom was living on proceeds from trust valued at end of Jan (per forwarded mail one month statement I got from Commonwealth Financial Network) at about $842K. She had always been very independent and didn't want me or my sib questioning any decisions. The trust has her and her best friend as co-trustrees. Ultimate beneficiaries of anything when she dies are her husband's children (my mom had re-married).

Her financial planner now tells me he can't release any info to me because he got an "informal opinion" from an atty that POA cannot act as trustee.
I thought that was what POA was for? like making decisions, signing checks my mom no longer can? I had sent him copy of POA plus letter from rehab facility attesting to her incapacity. I told him I'd like to see that opinion in writing, and he demurred and said he'd contact the atty (my mom's) who set up the trust. I also could just have the co-trustee, who is my mom's best friend, and also 79 and has no desire to manage mom's finances, send a letter, but I don't think I should have to. Don't know if that would satisfy planner either.

I'm a little ticked over his tone. Not to mention that the trust seems to have declined close to 50% (hard to tell from docs I had) since 6/2008.

Per one month Jan 09 statement,
Net Trading $10,444
Net Core fund activity ($16,602)
Net additions/withdrawals ($3,500) (that is the living expense draw my mom had dep'd directly to her local bank acct each month)
Net Income and Expenses $3,266

Cash 12%, Equities 36% (12 total), Mutual Funds 52%

I should add my brother and I each have an acct, joint with my mom, that she set up with this guy. Each is as of 1/31/09 at about $146K. This is money related to the sale of the family home back in the 70s. These accts. are down about 45% in last six months with no draw. The distribution is similar.

My own TSP 2010 fund investment, now about $200K, went down about 13% for all of 2008. Granted, TSP fees are low...but shouldn't a financial adviser have had a 79 year old lady who uses trust for living expenses in something A LITTLE MORE CONSERVATIVE? I believe he's "independent". I asked person on his staff earlier, when requesting docs, whether mom signed off on something like a "risk profile" as to how she wanted to invest, and she said "Oh, they DISCUSSED that every single time."

Thoughts?

 

[freebird5825]

...The trust has her and her best friend as co-trustrees...
Her financial planner now tells me he can't release any info to me because he got an "informal opinion" from an atty that POA cannot act as trustee...
I thought that was what POA was for? like making decisions, signing checks my mom no longer can? I had sent him copy of POA plus letter from rehab facility attesting to her incapacity. I told him I'd like to see that opinion in writing, and he demurred and said he'd contact the atty (my mom's) who set up the trust. I also could just have the co-trustee, who is my mom's best friend, and also 79 and has no desire to manage mom's finances, send a letter, but I don't think I should have to. Don't know if that would satisfy planner either.
...Thoughts?

I am sorry to hear of your mom's stroke. You are doing a wonderful thing to help her out.
It looks to me like the FP is playing it safe. I just had a revocable living trust done for myself last year. I am not an attorney.
Big question - Where is the co-trustee these days? Is this person able and willing to serve as Trustee? Is there an Alternate Trustee or Trust Protector?
I would respectfully suggest YOU and the co-trustee, at the same time, go directly to your mom's attorney and have him review the Trust and the PoA. Do they conflict? Are there boundaries between rights of the designated persons acting on your mom's behalf or are they identical or overlapping?
Then request he issue a letter to the FP outlining your legal rights as your mom's PoA and co-trustee's legal rights (if still serving). Not too many people ignore legal office letterhead.
If the co-trustee will not serve, mom's attorney may have to file a petition to a local court to officially remove her as a Trustee and fully enable your rights under PoA, due to your mom's incapacity. I'm guessing here...

 

[Martha]

Odds are that the POA does not give you rights to act in your mother's stead under the trust. I agree with the prior poster, you and the co-trustee go meet with mom's lawyer and see what can be done.

See my signature.

 

[grumpy]

Does the trust name a successor trustee? When it became necessary for me to administer my parent's trust (mom had alzheimers, dad had lung cancer) it was relatively easy because I was named in the trust as successor trustee. All I needed were letters from their doctors stating that they were unable to act as trustees. I also had POA for each of them. Each bank and mutual fund company wanted either the original of the POA or their own POA form signed by my folks (who were not able to do so at that point). It took many weeks to get all that straightened out. Good luck.