Dealing with mum's house

General
1

our mum (91) has been in a nursing home for a couple of years now, with advanced dementia
… in this time, we (my brother and I), have not done anything with her house …
for a range of emotional reasons and also because neither of us live in Sydney, where the house is
…
we have felt that we shouldn’t sell the house while mum is alive even though there is no chance of her ever coming back
… my brother has the Power of Attorney

we have decided it is time to bit the bullet and clear out the house so it can at least be rented

this means, for instance, clearing out the furniture (which has no real monetary value), but some sentimental value for us…
…
my question is -
what expenses associated with preparing the house to rent
(proceeds obviously to mum’s bank account)
are able to be paid from mum’s account…

we don’t want to make mistakes with things like this and have lawyers chasing us later, when the will is read

… so if anyone has practical experience in this area and can advise, it will be appreciated

2

Hi Kit,
Your brother has Power of Attorney so according to various legal websites the role of POA is to act in your mother’s best interests and wherever possible make the same decision she would make, keep accurate records of transactions, avoid conflict of interest and keep her property and interests separate from your own. I’d probably ring the Guardianship Tribunal in your state to see if they can guide you as to what you can and can’t do on behalf of your mother’s estate or ask your lawyer just to be safe.
Regards