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

GardenArtist, I was surprised by what I found, too. Wonder if it depends on when the Federal law was written if the mortgage loan written prior to the new law has to obey the Federal law now or if it was grandfathered.

If it were me, I probably would just keep paying the loan.

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...)

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.

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]

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.

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.