Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New Jersey
My mother died several years ago and part of her estate was the family home. My son was included as a beneficiary and is now able to obtain a mortgage to purchase it. The house remained in my mother's name and title was never changed to include all beneficiaries, nor was home owners insurance maintained. He plans to purchase the property directly from the estate and monies would them be divided accordingly. Now he's been told that he has to pay closing costs, but there is no realtor involved and the home remains within the estate. Is he expected to pay each beneficiary out separately after obtaining the necessary insurance, or purchase directly from the executrix handling the estate??? Thank you for your time.
3 Answers from Attorneys
Is there an estate representative? If so, that person should be representing the estate at a closing and handle the payment of closing bills and distribution of sale proceeds. A title company can be used if there is no representative or attorney for the estate. There are closing costs that the Buyer is responsible for, such as title insurance, his mortgage closing costs, recording fees, etc. There are also estate closing costs, like the realty transfer fee. This closing gets more complicated since the house is still owned by the estate, so many signatures are needed if there is no executor or administrator to sign for the estate. Also, depending on the value of the estate, there might be inheritance or estate taxes due. A real estate attorney, familiar with estate matters as well, should be consulted. This is a response to an Internet question and the reply is for information purposes only and is not intended to be legal advice or as creating an attorney-client relationship.
Your son needs to talk to a lawyer like me. Most of this stuff is not his problem, and I could make sure that he does not pay for stuff that is not his problem.
The executrix will be representing the estate at closing. There are some cots he is responsible for. I suggest getting title insurance so that he doesn't run into problems later.
John Ducey
732-458-5600
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