Posted on: 31st Dec, 2009 11:50 am
My father just passed away, he owes a bit more on his house than it's even worth now probably. He never registered his will, which states that I ,his child, am a beneficiary on the house.
I actually think that's a good thing, as now I'm assuming there's nothing legally binding me to his house and his mortgage. I've been advised from others to walk away from it, letting the bank foreclose. That's ok.
My concern is that I'm the beneficiary on his IRA and checking account...can the lender come after me later for taking his IRA money (or the few hundred that was in his checking) and not paying the mortgage off? (the IRA money wouldn't even cover half of what he owes on the mortgage). He had to show the lender his IRA account when he was applying for the loan, so I know they have copies of that paperwork.
Oh and his property is in Missouri.
Thanks in advance for any replies, this website is too cool :)
I actually think that's a good thing, as now I'm assuming there's nothing legally binding me to his house and his mortgage. I've been advised from others to walk away from it, letting the bank foreclose. That's ok.
My concern is that I'm the beneficiary on his IRA and checking account...can the lender come after me later for taking his IRA money (or the few hundred that was in his checking) and not paying the mortgage off? (the IRA money wouldn't even cover half of what he owes on the mortgage). He had to show the lender his IRA account when he was applying for the loan, so I know they have copies of that paperwork.
Oh and his property is in Missouri.
Thanks in advance for any replies, this website is too cool :)
Hi mopsy,
As far as I know, in Missouri, the lender will not pursue a deficiency judgment after a foreclosure sale. Thus, the lender will only be able to go after the property and sell it off to recover the dues. He will not come after your father's other assets. However, you can speak to an attorney of your area and check out his opinion in this regard.
Glad that you liked the website! Wish you a Happy New Year :)
Thanks
As far as I know, in Missouri, the lender will not pursue a deficiency judgment after a foreclosure sale. Thus, the lender will only be able to go after the property and sell it off to recover the dues. He will not come after your father's other assets. However, you can speak to an attorney of your area and check out his opinion in this regard.
Glad that you liked the website! Wish you a Happy New Year :)
Thanks
Thanks for the reply, James.
One of my family members had talked to a few of his lawyer buddies and they all told him the same thing that you said. I've just been wondering if I should pay the money and talk to a Missouri lawyer to make double sure! His friends say don't worry about it and to save my money and just pay a lawyer later down the road if a situation did ever arise.
The other thing they said is to NOT contact the bank to notify them of my fathers death. Just let them find out on their own after his bank accounts have been closed and there's no money for them to automatically draw from. They also said to take his new appliances too! That seems so shady to me though! They said that half the time people completely trash foreclosed homes so they'd be happy to get it in cleaned up perfect shape with just the appliances missing?!
Feels like theft to me
*and yes this site rocks, I've been reading loads of random topics that I wasn't even looking for and have learned all kinds of stuff :)
One of my family members had talked to a few of his lawyer buddies and they all told him the same thing that you said. I've just been wondering if I should pay the money and talk to a Missouri lawyer to make double sure! His friends say don't worry about it and to save my money and just pay a lawyer later down the road if a situation did ever arise.
The other thing they said is to NOT contact the bank to notify them of my fathers death. Just let them find out on their own after his bank accounts have been closed and there's no money for them to automatically draw from. They also said to take his new appliances too! That seems so shady to me though! They said that half the time people completely trash foreclosed homes so they'd be happy to get it in cleaned up perfect shape with just the appliances missing?!
Feels like theft to me
*and yes this site rocks, I've been reading loads of random topics that I wasn't even looking for and have learned all kinds of stuff :)
as with james, i am most gratified to see the good things said about MortgageFit. we try hard to make it informative, and we also hope that there's a little bit (or more) of entertainment value that'll "keep 'em coming."
as for your situation: there is no way the lender is going to take that IRA money from you, nor from the checking account. it's yours.
i would leave the home alone if i were you...you run the risk of being accused of trespassing if you were to (essentially) vandalize the home by removing appliances. what would you do with them?
as for notification of death, i don't suppose that's a big deal either way, though i think the nobel thing to do is to let them know.
as for your situation: there is no way the lender is going to take that IRA money from you, nor from the checking account. it's yours.
i would leave the home alone if i were you...you run the risk of being accused of trespassing if you were to (essentially) vandalize the home by removing appliances. what would you do with them?
as for notification of death, i don't suppose that's a big deal either way, though i think the nobel thing to do is to let them know.
Just wrote a response and lost it when I posted! GAH!
I'm really glad to hear two more professionals say that the lender can't touch the little bit that was left in his IRA.
As far as the appliances, I was thinking about giving them to people I know who could use them. If the bank forecloses and is getting all the money for the house when they re-sell it (with his down payment and all the work he put into it), I suppose the lawyers were right in saying "why give them his new appliances?!" But I don't know if I'll take them...I have too much of a guilty conscience I guess!!
There seems to be some really helpful people volunteering their time on this site...wish I had some more questions about real estate & mortgages etc lol
Thanks again guys! :D
I'm really glad to hear two more professionals say that the lender can't touch the little bit that was left in his IRA.
As far as the appliances, I was thinking about giving them to people I know who could use them. If the bank forecloses and is getting all the money for the house when they re-sell it (with his down payment and all the work he put into it), I suppose the lawyers were right in saying "why give them his new appliances?!" But I don't know if I'll take them...I have too much of a guilty conscience I guess!!
There seems to be some really helpful people volunteering their time on this site...wish I had some more questions about real estate & mortgages etc lol
Thanks again guys! :D
i must have simply overlooked that the attorneys suggested the taking of the appliances. are they real attorneys or do they just play some on tv? honestly, though i suppose i can get that conceptually, i have an awfully hard time with lawyers making the suggestion. it's hard to fathom that. and it's hard not to criticize them, too, i think and i hope.
That's what I was thinking actually, I thought I was just being prudish! I didn't actually hear them say that myself, but supposedly they talked it over during dinner one night. Then the info was passed on to me. Hmmm...making me go back to feeling like I should pay for my own lawyer again!
They're brand new appliances though, hate to just give them to the bank with the house. But they don't own them?? I've been going back and forth with this...I wouldn't do something illegal....but is it even illegal?!?!
Shoot :roll:
They're brand new appliances though, hate to just give them to the bank with the house. But they don't own them?? I've been going back and forth with this...I wouldn't do something illegal....but is it even illegal?!?!
Shoot :roll:
it might be more a matter of ethics than legality. but i also believe that a lender could easily file a complaint that might result in a charge.
a home without a fully operational kitchen is worth less than one with such a kitchen, to state the obvious. banks do not make money with foreclosures; they are losing money. sometimes i think it's just me that noticed the hundreds of banks that got locked up by the government in the past year or so - it wasn't because they were making too much money. it was because they were losing too much money.
i don't like "fat cats" either and financial institutions are full of them, but it's not them that get punished when appliances disappear from a foreclosed home.
a home without a fully operational kitchen is worth less than one with such a kitchen, to state the obvious. banks do not make money with foreclosures; they are losing money. sometimes i think it's just me that noticed the hundreds of banks that got locked up by the government in the past year or so - it wasn't because they were making too much money. it was because they were losing too much money.
i don't like "fat cats" either and financial institutions are full of them, but it's not them that get punished when appliances disappear from a foreclosed home.
mopsy, i think my best advice in this matter is for you to be cautious and not just take what now appear to have been idle words spoken over a meal for the truth. it's not too late to get an opinion from another trusted source, such as a lawyer who isn't in that clique.
Yeah, to be honest you're pretty much saying what I'm thinking. Which is why I've been so wishy-washy about following their "advice", I don't want to put myself at risk over a couple of appliances when I go to collect his personal things out of the house. I've just never been in this situation before so it sort of made sense when I heard "why would you give them his new appliances along with the house, they don't own them?"
but...it's the ethics things, just like you said. It'd be different if I replaced them with the old crappy ones, which are of course long gone.
Thanks a ton for stopping back and giving me your opinion...that's cool :)
but...it's the ethics things, just like you said. It'd be different if I replaced them with the old crappy ones, which are of course long gone.
Thanks a ton for stopping back and giving me your opinion...that's cool :)
my pleasure, mopsy. i hope this all works out to your benefit. and i'm gratified that you've reached virtually the same conclusion.
and of course, if you replaced the new with the "old, crappy ones" the bank would just appreciate that so much!
and of course, if you replaced the new with the "old, crappy ones" the bank would just appreciate that so much!
haha! Yeah, but that's how he bought the place...with the old crappy ones! He used them for such a short time, so it's like he just bought new appliances and made a bunch of improvements just to give it back to the bank in way better condition :/
Oh well, I'll have to get over it. I just wish he could've enjoyed the place for alot longer. He had only been retired for 2 years :(
Oh well, I'll have to get over it. I just wish he could've enjoyed the place for alot longer. He had only been retired for 2 years :(
that's too bad, mopsy. i'm sure you miss your dad, and i can certainly understand the feeling that you'd like to get something back in all this turmoil. at least you know they can't swipe his remaining assets, as you originally asked.