Probate FAQ #2

Question: What if there is a mortgage against real estate owned by the person who died?

Answer: If there is a joint mortgage on jointly held property, the surviving spouse will retain ownership of the house as well as liability for the mortgage. If the decedent owed several debts secured by the family home, the surviving spouse will have to deal with the issue immediately. There are many grieving widows and widowers who end up in foreclosure because mortgage payments were missed, and in some cases, the lender did not know that the family breadwinner had died. Don’t just pick up the phone. Go visit the lender with another family member. Don’t be ashamed to tell either your family or the lender that you are in a crisis. By the time you get foreclosure notices, it is going to cost you much more money to clean up the mess.

Call us with your questions or for more information at 205-502-2199.