Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Florida
My siblings and II were served with foreclosure paper on my mom's house. They say that I am a defendant. None of us live in the home and do not benefit from it. The papers say that we must respond in 20 days. How do I respond?
2 Answers from Attorneys
You need to file a response to the complaint. This is not an unusual occurrence. In order to get clear title, a bank must include anyone with a potential interest in the property as a defendant. They are most likely not trying to recover any actual money from you (unless you signed the note as an obligor or guaranteed it). If you let the 20 days go and do not respond, they will obtain a default against you and after that, seek a judgment. If you are not an obligor, it should not be a big issue, but you need to deal with it because you have to confirm they are not trying to recover against you personally and that it does not affect your credit.
Unless you signed the promissory note, you do not owe anything. Read the papers to see what they are claiming against you.