My dad has passed away, leaving a house without a beneficiary or trust to it. His wife and I are the survivors. He told me he bought this house to pass it on to me, but it doesn’t seem to be formally written anywhere. I’m still on the look for a trust or will. I can’t find it in the house, but the next spot would be his safety deposit box. Where else can I look?
Hes also left a lot of debt behind, maybe ~$20-40k in credit card debt and hospital bills. It’s ok to not go through probate to have debt collectors give up right? And then sign up for probate after a year..without an official executor title, what am I allowed to do? Is it fine to keep paying for all the bills and mortgage for the house? And then is there something significant I might miss that I need to do?
I’m also getting started on cleaning up the house for renting rooms, bc my budget is extremely tight. But what are the rules to that?
The wife doesn’t know much of how to handle this situation, so it’s up to me to work on most of it. I’ve also been relying on ChatGPT, but I’d like a sanity check bc chat isn’t always correct..
Also idk if this is the right sub. But thank you for your time
Inherited house without will? Probate? Renting out rooms?
byu/OreganoG inpersonalfinance
Posted by OreganoG
8 Comments
You likely need an estate attorney to properly probate the estate.
Intestate probate is a mess
No you can’t just dodge debt. I believe that is a crime in most jurisdictions
You can’t just ignore the debt…You can’t ignore probate. The bank who owns the mortgage isn’t going to just let you put it into your name or sell it without the legal right (will/probate).
Your father’s assets need to go through probate. Your wife is not an heir. You are the only heir .You should file to be executor of the estate and settle your father’s matters.
The credit card debt and any other debt will have to be paid by the estate. That might require that you sell the house, pay the debt, and then the remaining profit is yours.
The house deed is super important. Perhaps his wife is a joint owner on the title and it passes to her regardless of intentions or a will.
In other circumstances, it would likely end up 50/50 with his wife once debts are paid and the estate is settled.
Impossible to give accurate advice without knowing our country and jurisdiction
In most places, the wife will inherit property if there is no will. Spouse first, then children. It will have to go through probate and it takes time. Probate can also force you to liquify assets to pay off debt.
Some jurisdictions register wills. Also see if your father had a lawyer who may have a copy of a will.
From your replies, you need a lawyer dude. A couple of hours of their work won’t cost that much. If you try waiting out the debt like you’re trying to do, there’s a .inch greater chance you’ll lose the house.
Get a lawyer.
The faster you get through probate the better. The debt collectors have a finite amount of time to claim the debt. It works like this: you provide a list of all debt and debtors to the lawyer. Lawyer puts out a notice of death- both notifying those on the list and putting the information out publicly that the person has passed and that any debtors must come forward by xxxx date in order to have proper claim to this money. Once you are past that date, you are no longer entitled to settle any debtors that was not out forward during the probate process. So really, getting in and through of probate quickly is a better plan, especially if there were large medical bills which can take awhile to hit.
A executor will be necessary to open the safe deposit box, unless there is a second party on the bank record.
Some debts are discharged with the death of the debtor. Others are not and property is collateral.
At a minimum, research your states rules and laws.
For State of NC, County Clerk of Courts manages registration and administration of estate records.
You probably need 3+ raised stamp copies of the death certificate. And a few regular copies.