You Can Be Taken to Court for Failing to Keep Detailed Accounts

An attorney for property is the person named in a Power of Attorney document (POA), to manage another person’s property. The attorney is not usually a lawyer – the term attorney just means the person with legal authority.

Attorneys for property are required by law to keep detailed accounts and records during the time they manage the person’s property. They must account for all original assets and liabilities, all income and receipts, all expenses, and any compensation the attorney receives. Attorneys must not only keep these accounts, they must keep supporting documentation evidencing all transactions (bank statements, credit card statements, deeds, ownership documents, bills, invoices, receipts etc.)

What happens if an attorney for property fails to keep detailed accounts and supporting documentation? The attorney is in real danger of being taken to court, where they will be forced to undergo an audit of their accounts. This means, they must have their accounts put into a specific format (as required by court rules), and must submit their accounts and supporting documentation to the court for inspection (and to any other persons involved in the court proceedings which could include beneficiaries of the person’s estate, the person’s attorney for personal care, or the person’s family members).

If an attorney is forced to undergo an audit of their accounts and they have not kept detailed and accurate accounts and supporting evidence, they are at real risk of being found financially and legally responsible for all money or other assets that they cannot prove were used for the benefit of the person.

Here is a critically important caution: It is not enough for the attorney for property to simply tell the court that the money or other assets were used for the benefit of the person – the attorney must actually prove this with supporting records, invoices, receipts, and bank statements.

TIP: For the attorney’s protection, they should keep detailed accounts following the form and content required by law, as well as all supporting documentary evidence. That way, if ever required to prove where the person’s money or other assets went, the attorney can prove this. Similarly, the attorney can disprove allegations of dipping into the person’s assets for their own benefit, or even allegations of financial abuse and fraud, if they are ever accused of these.

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