Trusts: How to Handle a Home in a Trust Q: My mom's home is in a trust. She passed away towards the end of last year. She lived in the home for over 20 years. Her trust lists her six grandchildren as the beneficiaries of the trust. We’ve found a buyer for the home who [...]
Property Rights Under a Conservatorship: Are there any? Q: A conservator has taken over my aunt's house that I have lived in for almost 30 years. I had power of attorney for 20 years but my name has never been on the deed to the home. The home has a $10,000 mortgage on it. If [...]
Settling an estate, condo sale and debts. These are the issues this family is facing two years after their son's death. What would you do? Q: My single son died two years ago. He had no children. His only assets were his condominium and the money he had in his 401(k) plan. His condo is [...]
What if I have no heirs? A reader doesn't love his family enough to leave them his assets. Now what? Q: What choices are there for a person with no immediate heirs, who doesn't want the house and other assets to go to the cousins? Who or what can inherit? What happens if a person [...]
Should parents split an inheritance equally? Not always. There are many reasons why you might not want to treat all children equally. Read more: Sign up for my Love, Money + Real Estate newsletter. Should parents split an inheritance equally? One of our readers sent in this question: Q: My mom is in her 90s, [...]
How to determine property tax deductions when ownership is unclear. It starts with figuring out who actually owns the property. Q: My grandma's house is in probate as she passed last year. Her grandchildren have been living there and paying the property taxes. Who gets the tax deduction for those tax payments? How to Determine [...]
How does probate work without a will? The purpose of probate is to distribute assets and debt, if there is no will, the estate may not need to go through it. Q: What happens, if a person passes away and no one files probate because the estate has no assets? Do any of the deceased [...]
Property seizure by Medicaid to pay medical bill is possible if homeowner is delinquent on payments with no other assets. Medicaid can seize property to pay medical bills. Seniors needing assistance to pay medical bills may receive Medicaid coverage. Seniors with funds are expected to pay medical bills or face property seizure for Medicaid. Medicaid can seize property and other assets to pay for outstanding medical bills.
When you inherit property with a mortgage, paying off that mortgage loan is the responsibility of the estate, not the heirs. If the estate lacks the money to pay off the mortgage and the bank decides to foreclose, it should not negatively affect the credit histories of the heirs. While the heirs could do a deed in lieu of foreclosure with the mortgage lender, that action would not affect the original mortgage loan whose non-payment triggered the foreclosure to begin with.
