Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania
The mortgage holder ( a bank) of deceased separated husband is holding me responsible for the mortgage payment and insurance. My name is not on the deed. I was not living with him at time of death and had not been for two years. The property is in Pa and has been abandoned since his death in Feb 2015. I now reside in Virginia. I am on social security and cannot afford the past due payments or insurance. The divorce papers were never filed properly . Am I legally responsible?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Depends. First if the property was purchased during the marriage you may be an owner by the entireties, Further, what matters is if your name is on the promissory note. If it isn't their claim my not be valid. Without looking at thew documents it's impossible to say.
{John}
I agree with Attorney Davidson. Not having your name on the deed means nothing. The issue is whether your name is on the mortgage. Is it? Then you are liable for the mortgage (although that would be somewhat weird not to have your name on the property and still be liable for the mortgage). On the other hand, you may have a marital interest in the property but if your name is not on the property then you have no obligation to pay for it.
What is the property worth and how much is owed? Have you talked to a PA probate attorney as to whether you would have any inheritance under the intestacy laws if there was no will? Death abates any divorce action but you do not indicate whether you and your spouse had any kind of marital settlement/separation agreement in which you waived your spousal rights of inheritance. If you don't and if the property has some value to it, then you might want to probate an estate for your husband and sell the home, pay off the mortgage and inherit any excess.
If the property has little or no equity and you are not on the mortgage and don't want bothered, then tell the mortgage company to foreclose.
However, Attorney Davison is correct - an attorney needs to see any will, any marital settlement agreement, the deed/mortgage documents and would have to know what other stuff your husband owned and how it was titled to determine if it is worthwhile for you to pursue this or just let it be.
I assume no estate has been probated and that the man had no children. Otherwise, the personal representative for the estate would have taken charge of the property by now.