Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania

Re: mortgage payments after death

It sounds to me from your question that your brother's estate might be pretty close to being what we would call upside down or insolvent. If his liabilities and debts out weigh the value of the assets in his estate, you should be very careful before you simply proceed with the probate process and are appointed as the Executrix of his estate. In other words, if his estate is going to essentially be a wash, you may not want to take on the responsibility that comes with being an Executrix. However, if he has bank accounts at the time of his death that are in his name alone and are in excess of $3,500 you may have to engage in the probate process. If the house is mortgaged to the hilt, you may want to explore giving it back to the lender by means of a Deed in lieu of foreclosure. You may have other options as well. If you would like to discuss this further with me or one of the other attorneys at our firm, please feel free to contact us through are website at www.americanwillsandestates.com or directly at [email protected]. Thanks.

Re: mortgage payments after death

Who told you not to pay the mortgage? Was it a lawyer perhaps the estate's lawyer?

If it was not a lawyer then you should find one and get the straight scoop on this. ASAP.

I know this doesn't answer your question but its not a question that is easily answered. There just isn't enough information. We don't know how the house is titled. If the estate has other assets.

I know its scary to think about talking to a real live lawyer. I think the biggest fear is it will cost too much, for some issues that might be true, on the other hand even an estate with just the house could easily be worth $250,000. So spending say $200 to talk to a lawyer might save you for screwing up and costing the estate big dollars. Dollars you might be on the hook for. Even if you turn the matter over to an attorney that attorney might find you a way to save money that you might not have known about.

{John}