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There are moving/packing companies I've worked with that focus specifically on relocating older people into long term care facilities; I'm sure you could work with such a company as well. They could put boxes in storage and your friend could go through them at a later time. Also, an Estate Sale; there are companies that handle it. What a sad situation, but yes, it sounds like selling the home is right decision.
My friend is an only child. No one has found a will and she has an estate lawyer, but to me it doesnt seem as if the lawyer is doing much, I told her to call the lawyer next week. Her parents put the house in her name, but she didnt know this until after they died.
Okay - that makes no sense. How could they put the house in her name when there is a mortgage?????
She needs to have her attorney look into this. You're a good friend to try to help, but this anonymous internet query is just going to confuse her more. You need to support your friend emotionally, but only she can deal with the legal part of this. BTW, as far as the lawyer not doing much, this stuff takes way more time than you can imagine, especially if there ius no will.
Patches403 was spot on.
ETA: in your last post, you mentioned that there is an executor of the estate. IF you are correct, then the daughter has zero control over this. It's the executors responsibility to deal with it.
Last edited by Jkgourmet; 04-05-2015 at 08:31 PM..
If there's no will or trust, the estate will almost certainly end up in probate unless every single asset they owned was titled as transfer on death. There's really no way around probate if there's no will or trust.
YES THATS WHY IM TRYING TO CONVEY TO FIND A WILL OR TRUST.
I doubt her parents were actually able to legally add her name to the house since there's a loan on it unless they added her to the loan as well and they couldn't have done that without her signature. More than likely nobody will legally recognize her as an owner of the house. For her, it's too early to bother contacting real estate agents, more than likely she doesn't have the legal authority to list the house for sale. Likely she won't be able to sell the house until probate has progressed to the point of assigning her as the personal representative for the two estates and she will need the court's authority to begin handling the disposal of the estate assets.
PARENTS COULD OF ADDED HER TO THE DEED EVEN WITH A LOAN ON THE PROPERTY BEFORE THEY DIED. BUT USUALLY REQUIRES SOME PAPERWORK TO BE FILED WITH COUNTY REGISTRAR.
Probate and handling an estate can go on for a long time, sometimes years so just because the attorney isn't making things happen right away doesn't mean much. What your friend does need is for the attorney to sit down with her and map out how the entire process works and what she needs to do to move it forward. I do agree she should search her parents records to see if she can locate any attorneys they may have used and contact those attorneys to see if there's any wills.
YEAH THATS WHY IM SAYING FIND A WILL. EVEN IF ITS A OLDER DATED ONE.
She should also contact her parents' employers to see if they had any life insurance policies through work.
Whoa. Lots of bad advice in this thread with not very many facts to go on.
Nobody knows whether there is a will.
Nobody knows how many heirs there may be. (I know she is an only child.)
Nobody knows the facts on the mortgage.
Nobody knows how or why the property was mortgaged or where the money went.
Nobody knows whether the old folks were cheated.
Nobody knows what the "tragic circumstances" were.
With $400,000 in play, that could be a significant motive to cover somebody's tracks
We're just giving her a heads up on what to tell her friend to start looking for. As we give the suggestions she's getting other info.
I know! None of it makes sense. I told her to comb the house and find that will, maybe there is something about the house in there. Well I was just trying to get some advice for my friend. Thanks anyways everyone!!
The payment could double if the parents were living in the house and the child is not AND it was an ARM. The taxes and insurance would go up substantially once it was not owner occupied, but still full of stuff to insure. But this would be an unlikely combination.
Someone said the OP couldn't have a mortgage put in their name without their knowledge. While this is true, it is a moot point, since the OP said the deed was in the heir's name, not the mortgage. Two very different things. I could put my house in my friends name today, without their knowledge. All it takes is a simple 1 page document being notarized and filed. Of course, the lender may choose to call the loan then. But you can add a person without that happening. For example, when I bought my house, it was in my name only, even though I was married. To add my husband would have taken 5 minutes and $10 to file, and he wouldn't have to sign anything at all. In my opinion, it is a terrible loophole in the system. What if that person doesn't want to own the house?
Also, someone mentioned the lender would come and padlock the house while foreclosing. This is totally illegal for them to do. I'm not going to say no lender has ever done it, but the homeowner would be completely within their rights to cut the bolt off for access, or have a locksmith let them in if the locks are changed. Until the lender FINISHES the foreclosure, they have no right to deny access. In fact, it is not in their best interest to lock the homeowner out, because it prevents them from accessing to maintain the property.
There are 2 real, solid questions that the OP's friend needs to figure out before anything else can happen.
1. Are they the legal owner with the right to sell the property? With no will, this is called into question. But if the house was deeded to them, that would simplify things. But still needs to be legally confirmed.
2. Is there enough equity to afford to sell? While the OP wouldn't have financial repercussions from a foreclosure, they WOULD have to pony up the money for the closing costs and commissions in a sale. So if there isn't enough equity to cover these items, they'd be better off to let the house get foreclosed on.
Until these two answers are determined, any other conversation about what to do with the house is pointless.
I know! None of it makes sense. I told her to comb the house and find that will, maybe there is something about the house in there. Well I was just trying to get some advice for my friend. Thanks anyways everyone!!
You mentioned there is already an Executor for the estate. IF you are correct (and using the term "executor" in its proper legal sense), I'm thinking that a will has already been found that appointed that executor.
Again, I understand that you are trying to help and support your friend, but a good attorney is what she REALLY needs to help her sort this out.
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