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Owner died 2 years ago. House with mortgage sits there occupied by squatters. Mortgage bank has not foreclosed. No estate opened.
We've walked away from it. We don't contact anybody. We look online for info. County web site shows taxes are being paid. I assume the bank has continued tax payments.
The owner had allowed a guy who did some work for him to sleep in the garage, He's still there and has brought in others. So that's how the squatters got there. There have been arrests there and neighbors are unhappy. Police said a theft of electric service had been discovered. There is no active electric account.
So, whats new is a very similar home with no garage has been listed forsale a couple houses away which helps establish a home value higher than expected.
There is other debt and we don't know if we identified it all. Maybe it's too late for some of the claims. It's just a unknown. IRS debt is one.
It's kinda like if the house could be bought at a foreclosure auction and be free of other estate debt, maybe we could do something, but I don't think that's the case.
I don't think I can do anything but sit back and watch.
We don't have a use for it anyway
Remember, also, no estate has been opened. That could mean a lot -- however, whatever it means, it is even more complicated and troublesome. In addition, the IRS comes before all other creditors (except for, maybe, the bank that has a first mortgage). Speak to an attorney!
I think reasonable funeral cost comes first
No new news
State probate laws may differ a little, but the order of payment of estate assets is usually: funeral expenses, admin expenses (court costs, attorney fees, executor fees, etc), family allowance of distributions (some states allow some funds to be paid out to family members ahead of debt), taxes owed by decedent, debts of the estate (some states prioritize types).
When my FIL died, his estate was insolvent. After the required creditor notices, we totalled his remaining debts and and every creditor got about 30% of what was owed. The children got the house because it had been deeded to them many years before and the FIL had retained a life estate.
We don't see the mail that comes to the house. We don't get a newspaper the serves the homes location. So we may miss any notice of any action that takes place on this. I think the bank is supposed to notify heirs of their intent to foreclose.
Creditors do not have our identity. Any mail addressed to"The family of" would not reach us.
I might like a few select things from the contents of the house & garage before it all goes in a dumpster.
Owner died 2 years ago. House with mortgage sits there occupied by squatters. Mortgage bank has not foreclosed. No estate opened.
We've walked away from it. We don't contact anybody. We look online for info. County web site shows taxes are being paid. I assume the bank has continued tax payments.
The owner had allowed a guy who did some work for him to sleep in the garage, He's still there and has brought in others. So that's how the squatters got there. There have been arrests there and neighbors are unhappy. Police said a theft of electric service had been discovered. There is no active electric account.
So, whats new is a very similar home with no garage has been listed forsale a couple houses away which helps establish a home value higher than expected.
There is other debt and we don't know if we identified it all. Maybe it's too late for some of the claims. It's just a unknown. IRS debt is one.
It's kinda like if the house could be bought at a foreclosure auction and be free of other estate debt, maybe we could do something, but I don't think that's the case.
I don't think I can do anything but sit back and watch.
We don't have a use for it anyway
Too much information is missing from your post OP.
What state/local area is this all going down in? Some places take longer to deal with estates in probate than others. Did decedent leave a will and testament? Who is executor (if any) of estate? If decedent died intestate and a pubic administrator must be assigned to handle estate it could take awhile before property is disposed.
Going further if there is a will and or even if not there could be various heirs (or persons who consider themselves such) squabbling over estate.
In many states bank or whoever provided financing is owner of a property. As such they are legally bound to continue paying property taxes and other fees even if mortgage is not being paid. When estate is finally settled and property sold (hopefully) house will go for enough to cover outstanding mortgage and other liens on property.
Long story short it isn't unusual all over USA for properties to sit vacant long after owners demise due to issues with estate.
Too much information is missing from your post OP.
What state/local area is this all going down in? Some places take longer to deal with estates in probate than others. Did decedent leave a will and testament? Who is executor (if any) of estate? If decedent died intestate and a pubic administrator must be assigned to handle estate it could take awhile before property is disposed.
Going further if there is a will and or even if not there could be various heirs (or persons who consider themselves such) squabbling over estate.
In many states bank or whoever provided financing is owner of a property. As such they are legally bound to continue paying property taxes and other fees even if mortgage is not being paid. When estate is finally settled and property sold (hopefully) house will go for enough to cover outstanding mortgage and other liens on property.
Long story short it isn't unusual all over USA for properties to sit vacant long after owners demise due to issues with estate.
I think all that's true
There's no will, no executor, no administrator
One sibling heir, no one to squabble, no parents, no kids, no wife, no ex wives.
Anyone is welcome to open an estate and see what they can get. They can go to the court house and get a death certificate. We'll make whatever information we have available to anybody's lawyer that represents the estate . We could be in line if there's anything left.
I knew the guy. I helped him work on the house. I just want to see what happens to it.
He left too much of a mess. I am just not going to be the person who administers this estate. There is too much to deal with and too much uncertainty of the outcome.
I think all that's true
There's no will, no executor, no administrator
One sibling heir, no one to squabble, no parents, no kids, no wife, no ex wives.
Anyone is welcome to open an estate and see what they can get. They can go to the court house and get a death certificate. We'll make whatever information we have available to anybody's lawyer that represents the estate . We could be in line if there's anything left.
I knew the guy. I helped him work on the house. I just want to see what happens to it.
He left too much of a mess. I am just not going to be the person who administers this estate. There is too much to deal with and too much uncertainty of the outcome.
In nearly every if not all states if someone dies without a will things will be handled by courts (public administrator).
A judge/public administrator will assign someone to act as executor of estate and settle things. This includes searching for heirs, disposing of property... If decedent left a will public administrator will execute things as outlined in accordance with decedent's final wishes.
I think all that's true
There's no will, no executor, no administrator
One sibling heir, no one to squabble, no parents, no kids, no wife, no ex wives.
Anyone is welcome to open an estate and see what they can get. They can go to the court house and get a death certificate. We'll make whatever information we have available to anybody's lawyer that represents the estate . We could be in line if there's anything left.
I knew the guy. I helped him work on the house. I just want to see what happens to it.
He left too much of a mess. I am just not going to be the person who administers this estate. There is too much to deal with and too much uncertainty of the outcome.
Not anyone is welcome to open the estate and become the personal representative/executor/executrix. You have to go to the Surrogate Court and submit the will for probate. If there is no will and the decedent died intestacy -- someone can apply to be the personal representative/executor/executrix. They have to submit a list of the beneficiaries as a result of there being no will. Each state has it's own laws on who the beneficiaries will be. In NJ -- in a very simple family tree -- half goes to a surviving spouse, and the other half is divided amongst all children. These beneficiaries get notified and have the right to oppose that person's application. If no one opposes -- the County Surrogate (Judge) can approve the application. If they don't, then he/she will appoint someone (usually a local attorney).
It's a process. If you don't want to talk to an attorney, who can simply explain this to you, then you can call the Surrogate's office and they can explain it. If not, then you can do nothing, LOL.
In nearly every if not all states if someone dies without a will things will be handled by courts (public administrator).
A judge/public administrator will assign someone to act as executor of estate and settle things. This includes searching for heirs, disposing of property... If decedent left a will public administrator will execute things as outlined in accordance with decedent's final wishes.
That's not true. A family member, surviving spouse, a child, etc., can apply to be the personal representative. In NJ if no beneficiary opposes it, and the County Surrogate (Judge) can see the case for this applicant serving -- then he/she will approve the application.
Even in NYC -- a few months ago, a client's aunt died intestacy. A niece applied to become the personal representative, none of the 7 beneficiaries opposed, and the court approved the niece. Nothing will be handled by the court and there will be no public administrator. I do this for a living, so I am intimately familiar with the process. Not in every state, but I've worked on estates of people who died intestate in about 25 to 30 states. Thanks.
Search of online public information has revealed new recent activity. A collection case has been filed for a small credit card debt. Apparently they don't know he's dead.
We're just staying out of it.
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