Elder Law Report
Elder Law Report
When Trusted Agents Go Rogue: Legal Remedies for Power of Attorney Abuse
Power of attorney abuse represents one of the most devastating breaches of trust that can occur within families and relationships. When someone appointed to handle financial and legal affairs betrays that confidence, the consequences can be financially devastating and emotionally traumatic.
Attorney Greg McIntyre tackles this crucial topic head-on, providing a clear roadmap for addressing situations where an agent under a power of attorney acts against the principal's best interests. He explains that North Carolina law offers specific remedies when agents fail to uphold their fiduciary responsibilities. The first approach involves petitioning the court for an accounting—essentially forcing the agent to present comprehensive documentation of all their actions taken on behalf of the principal. This transparency mechanism allows a judge to review the agent's conduct and, if necessary, immediately remove them from their position to prevent further damage.
For cases where the misconduct is discovered later or after the principal has passed away, McIntyre outlines how civil lawsuits become the appropriate remedy. These legal actions can address breaches of fiduciary duty and seek restitution for funds that have been wrongfully converted to the agent's personal use. Throughout the discussion, McIntyre emphasizes the fundamental principle that agents must always act in good faith and in the best interest of the person who trusted them with this significant responsibility.
Have you noticed concerning behavior from someone who holds power of attorney? Don't wait until the situation worsens. The team at McIntyre Elder Law has extensive experience prosecuting these cases and protecting vulnerable individuals from exploitation. Reach out today to discuss your concerns and explore your legal options for holding wrongful agents accountable.
Hi, this is attorney Greg McIntyre and this is the Elder Law Report what to do if an agent under a power of attorney, somebody acting for someone else under a general, durable power of attorney, is not upholding their actions or their end of the deal or is acting against the best interest or against not in good faith. Interest or against not in good faith, maybe taking money from someone or not exercising their duties in a way they should or to just gain themselves. I've seen this in a number of cases. There's a couple of ways legally that you can respond to this If you are a loved one or family member who's in a bad situation and there's an agent under a power of attorney that's acting wrongfully. One is the North Carolina statutes. The law allows for a clerk upon a motion. It's kind of a small lawsuit that is a petition for an accounting for a power of attorney. That calls a hearing essentially for the power of attorney, the agent under that power of attorney, to present an accounting as to what they've been doing all this time with their power. So it lays bare and puts in front of a court exactly what's been going on front of a court, exactly what's been going on, full of bank statements and any other actions that have been taken on the principal, the person who made the power of attorney and gave away the power on their behalf by this person that was appointed the agent. Now if a court finds that and the clerk finds that the agent has acted wrongfully or has not been doing a good job, the court has the power to remove that agent immediately. So to stop the bleeding there of money or whatever's been done.
Greg McIntyre:Another way is sometimes we don't find out about these things until after the fact, sometimes maybe even if somebody's passed away. So there are civil suits that can be brought, civil legal actions that are brought where we're saying that someone breached their fiduciary duty. In fact that accounting meeting might be an initial meeting, especially if someone's still alive and you know the agent is acting wrongfully under a power of attorney. Great evidence for a civil case. That money has been taken wrongfully and that it's been converted to the interest or to the ownership of the agent and that that agent should reimburse the principal or the principal's estate if that person passed away. That they breached their fiduciary duty as an agent under the power of attorney and that they converted. Civil conversion is another tort or part of a civil lawsuit, that they converted that money to their own interest and for their own use and benefit, outside of what the power of attorney allowed them to do, not acting in good faith, which there's a duty of. That fiduciary duty is really a duty to act in good faith in the best interest of the principal who created the document and appointed the agent. So if you ever find yourself in a situation where you or a loved one or family member has an agent that's abusing, misusing a power of attorney, wrongfully, nefariously, not acting in good faith and in the best interest of the principal.
Greg McIntyre:Mcintyre Elder Law. I'm Greg McIntyre. I'm an attorney at our firm. I can help, our attorneys can help and we have a lot of experience prosecuting those lawsuits. No-transcript.