Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Georgia

The heirs don't pay it because it is never their property to begin with. With very few exceptions, ALL creditors are paid off prior to heirs getting anything. That means the house in GA likely will be sold to pay any debts owed on the NJ house, and any other debts. If the executor or administrator has to ask that question, it clearly shows the need for a lawyer for the estate before the individuals get themselves in trouble.

First, you do not indicate where your mother lived at the time of her death, when died or whether an estate was probated for her. I also do not understand why the NJ house was foreclosed upon. Did none of the heirs try to sell the property?

The procedure when someone dies is to probate an estate for that person in the county/state where the person lived at the time of death. Its ok that the person owned real property in more than one state but one state has to be the person's primary residence or domicile.

Once an estate is probated, the personal representative of the estate may need to open an ancillary estate in any other state in which the deceased own's real property. The duties of the personal representative are to figure out what the decedent owned and owed, pay the bills and then turn the property that is left over to the heirs.

The heirs cannot keep property and not pay the bills, so if the decedent owned one piece that was mortgaged and one that was not mortgaged, the heirs could pay the mortgage if they wanted to keep the property or sell the property that was mortgaged and pay off the mortgage company and then the proceeds would go to the heir of the mortgaged property or into the estate to be divided among all the heirs.

If the property was worth less than what was owed, it may have been good strategy to let the mortgage company foreclose on the mortgaged parcel rather than try to do a short sale. In such case, any deficiency owed on the balance (the deficiency is the difference between what is owed minus whatever the property was sold for at foreclosure) would then become a debt of the estate. I am not licensed in New Jersey and cannot advise on New Jersey foreclosure laws, so I don't know if a deficiency is allowed and, if so, how long a time mortgagee the lender has to get a deficiency. It might depend on if an estate was probated for your mother.

Assuming that an estate was probated and the claim for a defiency was allowed and filed, then it would be paid out of the assets in your mother's estate which would include her Georgia home. Of course, the personal representative might be able to negotiate the deficiency with the lender and be able to pay the deficiency out of the other assets. So it is not a given that the Georgia property must be sold.

What I would do is what you should have done at the outset and consult a lawyer. You may need more than one. First consult with a probate attorney in the county/state where your mother lived just prior to her death, whether it be in Georgia, ,New Jersey or somewhere else. You need to find out what the estate laws are if no estate was probated and get things rolling. If the probate is to take place in New Jersey, also discuss the foreclosure and deficiency with the attorney. If the New Jersey probate attorney cannot tell you whether a deficiency is allowed, then get a New Jersey real estate lawyer who specializes in foreclosure to assist you. Or you can try re-posting your question to a New Jersey real estate attorney, tell them when the foreclosure sale occurred and ask them whether New Jersey allows deficiency judgments and find out the time period in which they have to bring the action.

As has been stated you absolutely need a lawyer in Georgia, and possibly in New Jersey.

Creditors are paid before heirs which means the Georgia property may have to be sold to pay the NJ debt. However that depends on details you did not give, and an executor who has good legal help may also negotiate any debt down (and determine if it is collectable).