Can I be paying my Mother's mortgage since she passed?

This is interesting as the mobile home that my mom lives in was in her husband's name. He passed in 2011 and she has been paying for the house since. She got an equity check but it was made out in her husband's name, so she can't cash it. I don't understand any of this stuff and not sure what to do, and when she passes, then what?

I have an appeal hearing over transfers tomorrow anybody know what I can expect? I'm a wreck and just want all this over --- no matter how I can make it over.

If the house was deeded in your name, but she was carrying the financial burden for the mortgage, then I have two questions?

1. In whose name was any tax benefit taken on the interest part of the mortgage payments taken while your mom was alive?

2. With the mortgage payments set up in agreement with her, can you claim such tax benefits now that she is due without the mortgage as well as the deed having your name on it?

As long as you pay the mortgage the bank will not call the loan due. So just keep paying.

Just a general thought.... I wonder how many elders believe that once they pass and the house is Willed to an heir or whomever, that if the house has a mortgage that the mortgage is written off upon their death?

Or on the other side of the coin, that an heir believes when they inherit a house, that it comes free and clear?

Veronica - so what is the plan for opening probate to settle and transfer the assets of your late moms estate? Of which 1 asset is the house and its equity. Did mom have a valid will and who is named as the executor? What timeline does your state have set for opening probate? Your right past the 6 mo mark since death, so some decision should be happening as to probate. If you are not a heir, you need to file a claim against the estate for all those mortgage payments and within the required time frame by your state law.

OR did mom die intestate?

It's good that you have paid, as would have gone to foreclosure by now. But if you are not heir, you need to do stuff to be reinburse for all the payments made on anything on the house.

Then notify the mortgage company you are now responsible and put the mortgage in your name. If you want to keep the house, then pay the mortgage.

Normally, when you assume a loan of any kind; you must qualify for the loan. If the bank doesn't think you qualify, you may have opened up a can of worms. You need to seek legal council asap.

Garden Artist. I don't know what State you live in, but California now has a new contract not mentioning the Termite. I have not seen the contract yet, but we were warned it was coming. Evidently, there were some issues that came up at the end of escrows that were caused by the Termite work and who pays what. Lord knows we have continuous laws changing. Be advised on the Termite if you live in California.

Garden Artist....I am SO sorry you had such a terrible mistake made and hopefully you can find a way to see that not all Realtors are alike. As for the two lots, if the home was being sold with all the land listed in the listing, the TITLE COMPANY would not close without finding the issue. If it did close, I would bet a good attorney could come back on the Title Company, and also the listing broker. I too have worked across the table from some Realtors that should not be in the business. My mother was an excellent Realtor and I just followed in her footsteps. My clients came first and I read the Title of every single property and went through all the legal paperwork before I would agree to close. If a client wanted to close when I had found an issue, we cannot stop them. But what client would do that? The National Association and the Local Associations have attorneys working for the BOARDS who are available to answer a wide variety of questions for Realtors and clients free of charge. HOWEVER, I always recommend an attorney. Especially in an Estate. God Bless

Freq Flyer. You are SO right. I also advise they seek Legal help. I just thought a Realtor could look at the loan docs and see which clauses she needs to discuss with the attorney. As a Broker/Owner, one of my best friends was my Real Estate Attorney. He was a wealth of information for me. During the last downturn, he helped me so much with my clients questions about their pending foreclosures etc. If you have a good attorney they are worth their weight in gold.

OregonGirl, with all due respect, I would never turn to or rely on a realtor for questions of the nature asked by the OP and discussed in this thread.

When I bought my house, since I had real estate experience with one of the top large law firms in Michigan, I of course treated my purchase as I would a clien't. So I compared the legal description in the title work to that in the listing and found a discrepancy in the legal description of the property. The listing and purchase agreement indicated a property almost twice the size of that described in the title work.

I queried my realtor but could tell she didn't understand the issue, nor did she feel I was right in my assessment. It was her opinion that there was no discrepancy.

So I mathematically sketched the two different properties from the legal description. I was right - there were 2 different sized properties.

I finally had to threaten not to close until the issue was resolved; then my realtor got busy and contacted the seller's attorney. I don't even remember now why I chose her, but that was not a good choice.

I was right - the owners had taken title via 1 separate deeds, one for the latter part of a long narrow lot. The wife said she hadn't even thought to mention the second deed to their realtor when the property was listed.

Had I allowed the realtor to prevail, I would have ended up with the frontal part of a property, the former owners would still have owned the back part, but couldn't access it to even maintain it.

Realtors have their specialties with a little knowledge of ancillary areas, but they aren't qualified to opine on legal issues.

What a mess! The executor of the estate, whoever that is or was, really should have resolved this long ago.

I think you need an attorney to help you with all of this!

Oregongirl, in my area, Realtors rarely have such information, it is recommended that if a client ask such complex questions about Wills, Trusts, and ownership/deed transfers that the Realtors give the client the names of three Real Estate attorneys. Or if the client is elder, recommend Elder Law attorneys. The attorneys are more up-to-date with the current laws and new laws coming down the pike. There are always law changes the 1st of January and the 1st of July in my State :) It can be like a maze.

Boy, Frequentflyer got it RIGHT ON. Exact ....That was good Freqflyer.. You said it in such simple terms. I did not know a lot of those things.

Garden Artist....One more thing...Read the clause in the loan documents referring to your question. Is it a VA loan and you are a Veteran, you could take over the mortgage. There might be a clause in your documents that allows for an assumption of the loan and what the conditions are. Good luck See your Attorney

Gardenartist...I am a Realtor in California and Oregon. However I retired when my Partner became ill this year. I was a Realtor for over 40 years. When the home is transferred by the owner without the permission of the lender, YES, the bank can call the loan due. However, What bank in their right mind today with the market the way it is would call a loan due when the payments are being made. That said, if you were to sell it, all the money you put into it, would be down the tube UNLESS there is a Trust or Will stating that the home is your home. If there is no Will, then probate will take place. The proceeds after paying off the mortgage would be divided between her heirs accordingly. Any liens if they are filed against her or her house would also come off the proceeds. There are so many IFS. But, everyone on here gave you pretty decent information. Call a Realtor.... A seasoned Realtor and ask them some of your questions. If they are professional, and care about people, they will sit down with you and go over all these things with you. But, of course you could just call your Lawyer. God Bless and sorry for your loss.

Things to think about before transferring over title to a grown child..... best thing to do is for the parent to deed the property to the child and the parent as joint tenants with rights of survivorship, then when the parent dies, the child will inherit the property outside of probate and the child's basis in the property will be the fair market value of the property at the parents’ death.

Otherwise, if a parent who is still living deeds a house over to a grown child and the parent is totally off the deed, then the cost basis used for capital gains is the cost of the house when the parent had bought it. If a parent paid $5,000 for a house and 60 years later it is sells for $300,000 [location, location, location] the profit before deducting expenses is $295,000.

But if the house is named in a Will, and the parent passes, a new deed is made.... the cost basis used for capital gains is the day of passing. Home is worth $250,000 thus the cost basis will be $250,000 before deducting expenses [ie: realtor fees, etc].

Another thing to think about before deeding a house to a grown child while the parent is still alive.... a transfer of real estate could be considered a "gift" for gift tax purposes, and will require the filing of Federal Tax Form 709 to report the gift to the IRS and the payment of any gift tax generated by the transfer. Check first with an accountant for any current rulings on this.

I am glad you asked that question as my mother's elder law attorney had the house title put in my name. I talked to mom's mortgage agent about it. She said it doesn't make any difference to them that the title is in my name. She did make note of it. There is no more death clauses written into mortgage loans anymore. If I choose to take over the payments I am entitled to do so. The loan can transfer to me only if I have good credit and can prove I can make the monthly payments. By doing that then I can also write off the taxes paid every year when I file with the IRS. You can not do that if the mortgage is in your mothers name.

Was there a will if she put the house in your name and did not tell the morgee company you owe nothing unless your mom had a revise morgee then you would have to pay that to get it if your the only child on her will it sounds like that and you don't have a living father at home its your and paid if you co side for the house however it's not and you pay the regular payment till its paid sound like you had a privit aggreemet with your mom a living will oral not written the banks took your cks and put them on mom's account as sole owner when she past the home was paid for stop paying and get a lawer to ask for deed you cold ask but if you are telling us this you need his help it won't cost much and you will have a free home if no one contests so smile sweety

I would certainly keep paying the mortgage. That your mother had the title deeded to you, you're certainly on the right side of the law living there. Realistically, if the mortgage is getting paid on time and the house remains insured and the taxes are paid, the loan is what they call a "performing asset" and no mortgage company is going to complain about that and foreclose on you. That's an expensive process for them, and they would have little to nothing to gain from it. Here's the thing, though...you need to have the deed recorded at the court house in your name, and if you can, I would arrange to refinance it if possible because the day may come when you need to sell or move, and it's going to be a nightmare if the deed's not in your name, so the sooner you get that done, the better. That, and there's a good chance the rate is lower now that when your mother bought or refinanced it, so it might make the house even more affordable. Good luck to you!

Veronica, RED FLAG, RED FLAG!!!

If I remember correctly, Countrywide pulled the "don't send a payment" nonsense with me as well.

This could be a deliberate attempt to allow the mortgage payment to be late, so the lender can either:

(a) charge a late fee, and/or

(b) establish a precedent for late payment, as a another precedent to find you lacking as an acceptable assignee (there may be a provision in the mortgage allowing them to approve anyone who wishes to assume responsibilities under someone else's mortgage) or as the first step in allowing the payments to become delinquent, as a path to foreclosure.

Watch yourself - this is a tricky situation.

When Countrywide pulled that nonsense with me, I thought it all over and decided to send the payment anyway rather than give them grounds for adverse reaction later. I was glad I did after realizing what dastardly people they were.

Another issue: were you told verbally? If so, you can bet that there will be no documentation in the lender's files and the person who told you won't be identified. And someone later may very well deny you were ever advised not to send the payment yet.

I would send the payment ASAP. Or if you want advice from someone in the legal community, see if you can find a free legal clinic in your area. Check with the local county and state attorney bar associations - they'll know of free legal clinics.

The executor of the will is legally responsible for estate management. They would have cleared up the matter about the house long ago. If the designated executor cannot fulfill their duties, then a second executor has to be mentioned in the will also, and if they in turn cannot do the honors then the government takes over the task
If you were named executor, you have a lot of work to do, and it is not easy. You must involve an estate lawyer very quickly or be in trouble for dispersing property without probate and that is against the law.

thank you so much i sent the death certificate yesterday and the deed its a warrantee deed btw.. i don't know i was scared because mortgages are strict.. this month they told me to not send in a payment that i had to send in the papers first. so now lets just see what happens.. thank you all so much

Veronica, send a COPY of the recorded Deed; absolutely do not send the original recorded Deed. That should be kept by you.

Please tell us why you're concerned about losing the house for whatever reasons, including foreclosure. Lenders have investments in houses and don't just foreclose without good reason. It does cost them to foreclose, not only to hire counsel but in bidding at the eventual Sheriff's Sale, so it's really to their advantage to have you continue to pay the mortgage. Don't worry about their refusing your money - I doubt that would happen.

BTW, I would send the documents certified mail. When I sent them to Countrywide after my sister's death, I sent them certified but Countrywide lost them and I had to send them a second time. That was typical for Countrywide.

But if you're dealing with Bank of America, be prepared to be wrung through the ringer. They're notorious for being difficult to deal with.

i mother died of rapid cancer and did not have a chance to talk to the mortgage company she passed the dead over to me. today i called they said to send in the death certificate and a deed.. im scared ill loose my house i plan to stay with the house. ive been paying on time with payments... im scared they will foreclose it or something like that..

i plan to stay with the house.

Now that you mention it, I recall that there were some legality issues of the due-on-sale provisions and when I got an equity loan I specifically checked to see if had been snuck into the terms..

It's been so long I don't remember the issues though.

GardenArtist, did some more digging on this. "If the decedent leaves his home to someone other than a relative, the mortgage company can require refinancing, which could affect the interest rate and other terms of the loan." [source: finance.zacks]

I also remember the due-clause from ages ago. So you're not alone with this thinking.

FF. I've been thinking about this more; I'm positive I never saw it in any of the mortgages, and my memory is fairly clear on that since it was so long ago. (I can remember something that I did 20 years ago better than I can remember what I did yesterday - same old issue of aging).

It could in fact be that the law was enacted after I worked in commercial real estate.

It could also be that attorneys specifically didn't include that provision because the mortgagees may not have wanted to give an heirs an opportunity to assume a loan at the same rate.

And perhaps more importantly, an heir who assumed a mortgage wouldn't have gone through the same financial scrutiny to which the original mortgagor was subject. The new heir might not be someone to whom a mortgagee may otherwise grant a mortgage.

It's an interesting subject to explore. The statutes used to provide background on amendments, so that would help clarify when this provision was enacted. But it would involve more than a little research, especially since from what I've seen, on line legal research is somewhat different in that it appears the statutes are updated as amendments are made, whereas before that practice we had to research a statute then check the periodic inserts and updates for any changes.