Yes, you can sue a power of attorney agent for negligence when their careless management of the principal’s affairs causes financial harm. The agent doesn’t have to intend any damage; inattention, incompetence, or sloppy record-keeping is enough to support a claim if the conduct falls below the level of care a reasonable person would exercise in the same situation. Because the agent is a fiduciary, courts hold them to a high standard, and several remedies are available — damages, removal, a compelled accounting, and in severe cases criminal referral.
What Makes an Agent’s Conduct Negligent
An agent under a power of attorney is a fiduciary, which is the highest duty of loyalty the law recognizes. The agent must manage the principal’s property with the care and diligence a prudent person would use in similar circumstances, avoid self-dealing and conflicts of interest, and keep detailed records of every transaction made on the principal’s behalf.
Some of those duties can’t be waived, even if the POA document tries to relax them. Under the Uniform Power of Attorney Act, adopted in some form by most states, the agent must act in good faith, act within the scope of authority the document grants, and follow the principal’s reasonable expectations to the extent known.
Negligence is different from theft or fraud. A negligent agent is careless rather than predatory: overwhelmed, uninformed, or lazy, but not deliberately exploiting the principal. That distinction matters for criminal exposure but not for civil liability. Carelessness that costs the principal money is enough to support a lawsuit, and the agent can be personally liable for the losses.
Conduct That Supports a Negligence Claim
Courts see the same patterns repeatedly. If you recognize any of these in the agent’s handling of the principal’s affairs, you likely have grounds to act:
- Reckless or careless investing — putting an older principal’s savings into speculative stocks, cryptocurrency, or other high-risk assets inconsistent with their financial situation and risk tolerance.
- Neglecting basic financial obligations — missed property tax payments, lapsed insurance, unpaid mortgages, unfiled tax returns. These oversights snowball into penalties, liens, damaged credit, and even foreclosure.
- Poor property management — letting real estate deteriorate through deferred maintenance, dropping coverage, or ignoring tenant issues on rental properties.
- Failing to keep records. When an agent can’t produce documentation of where the money went, courts draw unfavorable conclusions. Sloppy bookkeeping shifts suspicion onto the agent even when intentions were honest.
- Ignoring the principal’s known preferences — moving them into a facility for the agent’s convenience without medical necessity, or making financial decisions that contradict clear instructions.
- Acting outside the document’s grant of authority. An agent authorized to manage bank accounts who starts making real estate deals has breached the POA even if the deals turn out well.
The common thread is a failure of attention or competence that produces real harm. Proof of bad intent isn’t required.
Who Has Standing to Sue
The principal can sue, but principals who need an agent often aren’t in a position to monitor that agent, which is why the law lets others step in. Under most states’ laws, a court petition to review an agent’s conduct can be brought by:
- The principal’s spouse or domestic partner
- Adult children or other close family members
- Anyone named as a beneficiary in the principal’s estate plan
- Another fiduciary acting for the principal, such as a trustee
- A co-agent named in the POA document
- Adult Protective Services or a similar government agency
In practice, family members bring most of these cases. An adult child notices the parent’s account has been drained or that property taxes weren’t paid, asks the agent for an explanation, and consults an attorney when the answers don’t add up.
What a Court Can Order
The remedies available depend on the severity of the breach, the size of the loss, and whether the principal is still capable of acting for themselves.
Money Damages
The most direct remedy is a judgment for the money the principal lost because of the agent’s negligence. Damages can include investment losses from imprudent decisions, penalties and interest on unpaid taxes, repair costs for neglected property, and any other financial harm traceable to the agent’s failures. The agent is personally liable, which means the judgment can be enforced against their own assets.
Courts in many states can also surcharge the agent — order them to repay specific funds that were improperly spent or unaccounted for. If the agent commingled the principal’s money with their own, the court may presume that any expenditure benefited the agent rather than the principal, and the agent has to prove otherwise.
A Compelled Accounting
Courts can order the agent to produce a full accounting of every transaction conducted under the power of attorney. This is often the first step in a negligence case because it forces transparency. An agent who can’t account for the principal’s funds faces an uphill battle defending their conduct, and the accounting itself often reveals the scope of the mismanagement.
Removal and Replacement
A court can revoke the agent’s authority when the evidence shows they aren’t meeting the required standard of care. Catastrophic loss isn’t necessary; a demonstrated pattern of carelessness or incompetence is enough. After removal, the court may appoint a successor agent named in the document or, if no suitable candidate exists, a court-supervised conservator or guardian.
Criminal Referral in Serious Cases
Pure negligence is a civil matter. But when carelessness shades into willful disregard, or when losses are severe enough that prosecutors view the conduct as exploitation, criminal charges become possible. Every state has laws addressing financial exploitation of vulnerable adults, and many specifically cover abuse by someone in a position of trust like a POA agent.1United States Department of Justice. Elder Abuse and Elder Financial Exploitation Statutes Penalties can include fines, restitution, and imprisonment depending on the amount involved and the vulnerability of the principal.
When to Call Adult Protective Services Instead
Not every situation calls for a lawsuit as the first step. When the principal is an older adult or a person with a disability, reporting the agent’s conduct to Adult Protective Services is often faster and more practical. APS agencies investigate reports of abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation of vulnerable adults, and a mismanaging agent falls squarely within their mandate.
Every state operates its own APS program with its own reporting procedures. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services runs the Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1116, which connects callers to local agencies that handle these reports.2U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. How Do I Report Elder Abuse When you file a report, describe concrete conduct — missing funds, unpaid bills, deteriorating property — rather than general concerns. Specific details help investigators prioritize.
Anyone can file a report, and most states allow anonymous reporting. Certain professionals like doctors, social workers, and financial institution employees are mandatory reporters.
How Long You Have to Sue
Every state imposes a statute of limitations on claims against a negligent agent, and the deadline varies depending on whether the court treats the claim as breach of contract (the POA document), tort (negligence causing harm), or fraud. In most states these windows run from two to six years, though the exact period depends on how the claim is characterized.
Many states apply a discovery rule to fiduciary breach claims. Because principals are often incapacitated and unable to monitor their agents, the clock may not start until the negligence is actually discovered, or should have been discovered through reasonable diligence. An adult child who uncovers mismanagement after a parent’s death may still have time to sue even if the negligent acts happened years earlier.
Waiting is one of the most costly mistakes in these cases. The legal clock may already be running, and every month of continued mismanagement makes recovery harder.
Steps to Take If You Suspect Negligence
If you think an agent is mishandling a principal’s affairs, act on it now rather than waiting for more evidence to surface.
- Gather what you can see: bank statements, unpaid bills, tax notices, property records, correspondence from creditors. Concrete documentation is what turns a suspicion into a case.
- Ask the agent for a written accounting. Their response — or refusal to respond — will tell you a great deal.
- If the principal is a vulnerable adult, call Adult Protective Services through the Eldercare Locator. An APS investigation can move quickly and doesn’t require you to hire counsel first.
- Consult an attorney who handles elder law, estate litigation, or fiduciary disputes. They can petition the court for an accounting, seek the agent’s removal, and pursue damages for what the principal has lost.
The agent’s carelessness doesn’t erase itself with time. The sooner someone with standing steps in, the more of the principal’s estate can still be protected.