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Foreclosure by a dead person

Posted on: 13th Aug, 2009 11:34 am
I bought a 400 acre farm from my grandmother 30 years ago where she held the mortage. I paid off the mortage a long time ago, but my grandmother never actually signed off the mortage as being paid, and so there is still a lien on the property in her name, even though she has been dead for 25 years.

I am getting up in years and I am thinking of a way of how I can protect my farm from the government if in the future I ever have to go into a nursing home, or in the future, when I am dead and my son ever has to go into a nursing home when he gets old. I know I can transfer the deed now to my son, but, he has any financial problems, then it can still be taken away. A living trust does no good, because the government can still get to it to cover the cost of a nursing home.

I want some way that no matter what type of financial problem I have, be it debts, or a law suit, or whaterver, no matter what, I want some way my farm can not be taken away.

One way to do this is put it into someone's name that would never have a liablility in the future. With that in mind, I was thinking, why can't I have my farm repossessed or foreclosed by the original deed holder , which in this case would be my dead grandmother. I assume that when a property is foreclosed , the deed is automatically put back into the original owner's name, am I correct? If that could be done, that would eliminate any confiscation by the government , or anyone else, now, or into the future because the farm would not be in my name, or my son's name. No matter if I ever got sick , or in the future after I die, if my son or his family ever got sick, the government could never take it away from my family simply because it is not in our name . My family and my future hiers could continue to live on the farm for ever, as long as the taxes continue to be paid very year. It is irelevent whose name is on the deed. Anyone can live there as long as the taxes are paid. We can pass it down from generation to generation without any fear that the government will ever take it away.

My question is, if a property is foreclosed, does it automatically revert back to the original name on the deed which would be my dead grandmother? How would I go about foreclosing on my property to have it revert back to her name, if this is possible?
You have mentioned that you've paid off the mortgage for the property a long time back. If you have documents or statements relating to mortgage pay off, you can contact the lender and get a mortgage release certificate. However, as a long time has passed since you paid off the dues, I doubt whether the lender would be ready to deal with your case.

As you've paid off the mortgage for the property, the question of foreclosure does not arise. A lender would foreclose the property only if you are unable to pay off the loan. Moreover, when a property is foreclosed, it does not revert back to the original owner of the property rather it would remain in the name of the person who owns the loan. If your grandmother had not transferred the property to you or any other heirs, then she is still listed as the owner of the property.
Posted on: 14th Aug, 2009 02:55 am
The mortgage was with my grandmother directly. I paid her a lump sum down, and then made monthly payments until it was paid off. I signed a mortgage with a lawyer that she held in her name, and I assume it was registered with the county. Over a period of 4 years , I made my payments directly to her by check until it was paid off a year before she died. I believe the deed is in my name, because every year since I purchased it, I receive my tax statement and it has only my name on it and no mention of my grandmother.

By what you are saying, if my property was foreclosed, it would automatically revert back to the name on the registered mortgage , which in this case would be my grandmothers? If thi is the correct, I how would start proceedings to get it foreclosed? Does the person who holds the mortgage, do they have to sign anything, since that woud be a little difficult since my grnadmother has been dead for 25 years?
Posted on: 14th Aug, 2009 04:16 am
Hi chas,

I don't think you've a mortgage on the property. If you do not have a mortgage on the property, the lender will not be able to foreclose it. As Niicss has said, the question of foreclosure will never arise if you've paid off your mortgage dues. Since the property deed is in your name, it would be considered as your property. You won't be able to revert it to your dead grandmother's name.
Posted on: 14th Aug, 2009 10:48 pm
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