In a Sale
What This Means When the House Is Being Sold
This is one of the most common misunderstandings families bring to an estate sale. Someone arrives holding a power of attorney, sometimes a durable one drafted to survive incapacity, and reasonably expects it still works. It does not. The moment the person who granted it dies, every power of attorney built on that grant ends immediately, regardless of how it was written or how recently it was used.
Title will not insure a deed signed under a power of attorney dated after the date of death, and escrow will not accept one either. What replaces that authority is whatever the will, the trust, or a court appointment provides.
Where a family has already relied on a power of attorney for something after the death, that reliance needs to be raised directly with an estate attorney rather than continued.
Compare
Not to Be Confused With
- This TermPower of Attorney
- Often Mistaken ForAttorney in Fact
- Often Mistaken ForConservator
- Often Mistaken ForExecutor
What Tells Them Apart
A power of attorney is the document itself, and Attorney in Fact is the person it names. A conservator holds separate, court-granted authority over a living person's affairs, which also ends at death. An executor is who takes over after death, requiring an entirely different appointment process that a power of attorney cannot substitute for.
Questions
Questions People Ask
Does power of attorney still work after the person dies?
No. A power of attorney ends immediately and completely at the death of the person who granted it, regardless of how the document was written. Authority afterward has to come from a will, a trust, or a court appointment instead. An estate attorney can identify which one applies to a specific situation.
Can I sell my parent's house using their power of attorney after they died?
No, and a title company will not insure a deed signed that way. The power of attorney stopped working the moment your parent died. Selling the house requires authority from a will, a trust, or a court appointment such as Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration instead.