My mom passed on 02/12/25. She has a condo(which I want to keep but have to rent out to afford the mortgage and HOA dues) and $21,000 in credit card debt. I have been in the probate process for about 3 weeks and I received notices from the creditors. I had already received the paperwork from the probate court to close the estate and also the deed of distribution and was in the process of filling it out when I got the notice from the creditors. I have a little money from her accounts but I need that to pay the mortgage and HOA dues until the condo is ready to be rented. Can the creditors force me to sell the condo if there isn’t money in my mom’s estate to pay them? I’m putting this in the POA category because I don’t see an option for probate matters.
All we can do is speculate since we don't know what's in the will, if she left one, and what the laws of her state are. Take everything to a lawyer and have him or heard advise you. Unless she has a huge complicated estate it won't cost you that much, but could save you from making mistakes that could be expensive.
IMO though, the condo is part of Moms estate. If no money, then it has to be sold to pay the creditors. If you want to keep it, then you will personally have to pay off the creditors.
Credit cards technically are unsecured debt. The attorney can explain. If you are the executor (?) then based on your state and local laws; you will need to follow ALL the required steps.
Sorry, this is NOT a fast or easy process. And w/legal matters, "not knowing" is not a defense! There are no do overs. Get legal advice asap.
NAL but have been an Executor, so that being said, the type of probate your mom’s Estate entered into & under at the courthouse sets the requirements & timeline that have to - HAVE TO - be adhered to. Like there is full-on traditional probate with Letters Testamentary issued, there’s Small Estates affidavit, there’s Muniment of Title action, and probably something else as well unique to your moms State probate laws. Could require a 6 month waiting period to Ben start to do a distribution. It could be an Independent Administration or a Dependent one which rules have to be followed. All this stuff is super important and not just for the niceties of the courthouse but for your own legal exposure / litigation.
If she died just this past February, to me, at not even 2 months out, that is way waaaaay too quick for you to even consider doing a distribution. It’s not even 60 frickin days. The healthcare billing is still cycling through it payments. Her crediors / debtors are NOT even into the 90 day point where they start to get involved in delinquency. Personally I cannot image even posting a Notice to Creditors in a newspaper & at the Courthouse so soon
If you are not doing all this without a probate atty, please pls PLEASE find one asap and have them go over everything. You want to get her Estate on the right track for its accuracy on Assets / Debts / Claims and the Estates eventual distribution, it’s IRS filings, and correspondence to her mortgage company and her HOA to be done properly.
fwiw pay the mortgage and pay the HOA dues, even it means you personally pay for this and do your own Claim Against the Estate to get the $ recouped. Neither HOA or mortgage have much sense of humor if a payment is missed or an assessment or fee is ignored. HOA can be a total b*tchfest if you don’t play by their rules. Try not to let it go there as you have to have the HOA board friendly to ever get that condo rented out or sold.
Also make sure you get new property insurance placed on that condo asap….. moms old homeowners policy is now invalid. Homeowner that the policy required is dead. Ya need a new one, like a Vacant Dwelling Policy or Specialized Dwelling Policy. Independent Insurance agents do these, not the StateFarms, AllStates. There is probably a HOA mandate on policy requirements and a fine if not done quickly. Really don’t poke the HOA bear as so often it’s a petty fiefdom.
Otherwise often an Out of State Executor may mean they have to be bonded. The amount out of the bond based on the value of the supposed assets of the Estate. Like 500K estate ends up 1M - 1.2M bond that Exec would have to get done to be able to handle the Estate under independent administration.
We are a bunch of caregivers. While I settled my brother's Trust myself I did have an attorney to get me that EIN number, and to answer questions such as yours. That is to say EXPERT advice for legal, financial and medical questions is the best way to go, not the myriad and often conflicting opinions of a bunch of strangers. Bogleheads and MotleyFool forums are best at financial guesses, overall in these uncertain times I would get the best advice you can pay for.
Wishing you the very best going forward and sending my condolences on your loss.