Question: I’m paying the mortgage on my grandmother’s house. The mortgage loan company wants my grandmother to respond to them, but she and my mother are deceased. How do I respond to the mortgage loan people about the house?
Loraine’s Answer: If your grandmother was responsible for the mortgage but is now deceased, someone will need to get appointed to deal with her estate. That person will then be able to talk to the mortgage company, as well as deal with other estate tasks that will need to be dealt with, such as getting the house transferred to the appropriate heirs or beneficiaries, dealing with any other creditors and any other assets, and generally doing the things that need to be done after someone has passed on. Please note: You do not necessarily have the right to live in or keep the house just because you have been making the mortgage payments– you need to figure out what should happen to the property and take the appropriate actions, which may include either offering your grandmother’s Will for probate or opening her estate for administration if she had no Will.
If your grandmother had a Will, see if you can find it and figure out who is the nominated Executor. If she did not have a Will, then you may be one of the heirs if your mother died before your grandmother did. As one of the heirs (and maybe the only heir, depending on whether your grandmother had any children other than your mother), you may be able to get appointed as the Administrator of her estate if she did not have a Will. Either way, you should consult a probate attorney for help figuring out what needs to be done and how best to accomplish it.
In the meantime, you should tell the mortgage company that your grandmother has passed on and that you are in the process of opening her estate You should keep track of any payments you make; you should be entitled to get reimbursed for those from the estate’s assets. Then get to an attorney and get started dealing with the estate as soon as you can.
Key Estate Planning Takeaway: If a mortgage holder dies, the mortgage company will need to be notified of the person’s death and that estate proceedings are underway. Nothing happens automatically and heirs or beneficiaries cannot simply take over the mortgage payments and the property.
This “Q&A with Loraine” blog series is inspired by answers from Morgan + DiSalvo Partner Loraine DiSalvo to actual user questions posted by individuals on www.avvo.com. This blog is a more in-depth response than can be given on their site under their character limits for answers. To view the original question and Loraine’s original response, click here.
