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Power of Attorney Standing to Challenge

Are you curious about whether you have the standing in order to pursue a probate dispute case in Pennsylvania? It helps to sit down with a lawyer who often helps people in this position so you can get a better sense of the phases involved and what must be prepared in order to file.

A Philadelphia POA standing to challenge lawyer can assist you if you are curious about whether or not you are within your grounds to challenge an agent under existing power of attorney. A POA standing to challenge lawyer in Philadelphia is the first person you should turn to to verify you have grounds for a case. When Pennsylvania's power of attorney statute changes were enacted in 2014, new changes and provisions have been in place since 2015.

A POA standing to challenge lawyer in Philadelphia will be an advocate for you and help you to understand whether or not you should bring a case to begin with. The power of attorney statute under section 5601.3(d)(1) provides that an agent is not required to disclose disbursements, transactions, or receipts conducted on the behalf of the principal unless so ordered by the court. This statute does not require that an agent disclose any information to a beneficiary in another principal's will or a person who appears to be an heir of the principal. You could petition to have a guardian appointed for the principal if you fall in line with the belief that the power of attorney agent is not acting in the person's best interest. The guardian will have standing but this route does have its own risks. You need to be prepared to understand how and when to challenge the actions of a person given a power of attorney. You must be able to show that the power of attorney itself is an invalid document and should therefore, not be viewed as legal by the court or that the person who has standing as the power of attorney has violated his or her legal responsibilities to act in fiduciary duty.

This is known as a breach of fiduciary duty claim, and the responsibility to present appropriate evidence falls on you, the person who wants to initiate this lawsuit. You must be prepared to consult with a lawyer well in advance on filing such a legal claim because the outcome of your case will depend significantly on the attorney you select and his or her experience in the field. You need someone who is familiar with abuse of power or other issues that could a render a power of attorney document invalid. In all of these cases, it is imperative to take action sooner rather than later.

The longer you will wait to gather evidence, the more difficult it will be to illustrate to the court that the power of attorney document is invalid or that the agent appointed in the power of attorney has failed to live up to his or her fiduciary duty. As a beneficiary, it is also helpful to speak to an attorney sooner rather than later because these cases can be notoriously complex as well as long, and waiting too long to get support could make things much more difficult for you and any other beneficiaries who stand to reap the rewards of successfully illustrating that a power of attorney agent has breached their fiduciary duty. Time is of the essence and you cannot afford to wait when you find yourself in this position. You need to schedule a consultation directly with a lawyer.

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