Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Massachusetts

Re: Predate promissory notes

Who told you that a promissory note cannot be postdated or antedated and based on what law?

That doesn't tell the whole story ... if someone were to violate that rule, what would the effect be? That's the question. I cannot see why the remedy (solution) would be to just start the same amount 9 years later and forgive the intervening interest. However, that doesn't mean you tell your brothers what I said, either. You should hire a lawyer and have him look over the documents. If you want to fax them to me at (617) 527-1763, I'd be happy to look at them. There are two famous "Statutes" which may be of assistance to you in diminishing the estate liability if that's your wish, namely statute of limitations and statute of frauds and there is at least one major contract principle involved, too. What induced your father to sign the mortgage notes in 1996 even if he received the loan money in 1987? Did he have an attorney when he signed those notes? What's the address of the land -- is it registered or recorded land? (I can look that up.)

Do the mortgages survive the death of the borrower? In fact, did your brothers actually lend him money or was this just a gift of some sort? If the latter, why?