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

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.

P.S. ^^^ the above information doesn't apply to Reverse Mortgages. If a parent passes on and has a Reverse Mortgage on said house, the mortgage becomes due and payable immediately unless the grown child can re-finance the house to pay off the Reverse Mortgage. If the grown child cannot re-finance, then the house has to be sold.

Well, the first question is what are your plans for the home? Do you plan to stay there and/or retain it until it's sold?

If by "put the deed under [your] name" you mean (a) she executed either a warranty or quit claim deed to you, (b) if it was properly executed and recorded, (c) if you're now the title holder, and (d) if there was no will or trust or any provision made for selling and distributing the proceeds to any siblings or other heirs...well, then it would seem the house is yours.

However, there's likely a clause in the mortgage providing that an unauthorized transfer of title is an event of default. It was standard in commercial mortgages when I was in that field.

I think technically that you are not responsible because you didn't assume the liabilities under the mortgage, so you're not an assignee under the mortgage. That's just the legal issue as I understand it.

But as fee or title holder, you're responsible for the house.

If you don't pay the mortgage, it will go into default and be foreclosed.

Your question asks if you "can" pay on the mortgage - yes, you can. But there are other issues to be addressed as well.


And I am sorry for your loss - it must be especially hard to try to deal with the house and mortgage issues after losing your mother so recently.

You don't have to pay the mortgag it should have been paid out of the proceeds of her estate or the home sold to pay it off.

If you stop paying the mortgage, the bank will repossess the home.

Talk to an attorney.

veronicaj21, I did some quick research on the internet, and here is what I found which surprised me...."Federal law allows for the transfer of the loan to a relative or other heir when you die. Although most home loans contain a due-on-sale or acceleration clause that allows a lender to demand immediate and full payment upon transfer or sale of the home, transfers due to death are exempt. This means your heirs would take on your home loan with the same interest rate and payment you have." [source: interest.com]

"If the deceased parent is married, the surviving spouse is typically responsible for satisfying the mortgage. When there is no spouse, the children are usually the next in line to inherit any assets. A parent can assign the property to a child in a will, entitling him to any equity in the home. Under federal law, the mortgage is allowed to remain in effect when passing to a beneficiary upon death. This means the beneficiary can continue making the mortgage payments until the loan is repaid. The child inheriting the home can also choose to sell the home and pay off the mortgage if she cannot afford to continue paying the house payment." [source: finance.zacks]

FF, I stand corrected. Looks like I wasn't completely accurate on the default clauses. I don't recall ever seeing those inheritance clauses from mortgages I read, but there were provisions that statutes would prevail if there were conflicts between mortgage terms and laws.

(Hanging head with red face in shame...)

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.

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.

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?

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.