Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Oregon
My dad passed away and still owed money on his house in Oregon, solely in his name. The bank is going after his 5 kids for the rest of the money; I just got served with a Civil Summons and have 30 days to respond (I live in WA state). I don't want anything to do with the house, so I signed and mailed in the legal paper, which unfortunately got lost in the mail. I didn't keep a copy, and I have tried over a half-dozen times to get replacements from the bank's attorney to no avail. Is there a form I can download online to sign and mail in? Can I just send the court and bank attorneys a letter saying I don't want anything to do with this house?
2 Answers from Attorneys
First, who is the executor of your father's estate? That person should handle this. If you have not done so, you should probably hire an attorney to deal with it, as the bank will probably try to collect from the estate any deficiency created when the bank sells the house but does not receive enough to pay off the whole loan. Oregon does not allow deficiency judgments under most circumstances, and an attorney needs to assert that in court.
Second, the kids are not responsible for paying anything on the mortgage, unless they co-signed the loan in the first place.
If you lost the papers, do you know the docket number of the case? Send the court a letter saying that you are not a co-signer and are not obligated to pay the mortgage. Be sure to put the docket number of the case on the letter.
Since the other 4 kids would have received the same legal paper, why don't you ask one of them for a copy of it?
And don't just sign some paper that the bank sent you. It probably tries to obligate you to pay off the loan. DO NOT SIGN IT. TAKE IT TO AN ATTORNEY.
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