Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania

You ask a couple of questions.

If you received a discharge in bankruptcy, there may be time limits before you can purchase a home if you are seeking a mortgage from a traditional bank lender. You should discuss this with your bankruptcy attorney. However, it may be a 2 year period.

Your second question concerns the property taxes. Anyone can have the tax bills sent to a particular person or address. However, as long as the property remains in the name of someone else, I don't think the property taxes can go in your name directly. The tax bill could read "the heirs of xxx [insert the name of your mother-in-law].

The third issue is that you state you have nothing to show you are living in the home. Who do you have to show this to? A prospective mortgage lender? Assuming that your mother-in-law lived in Pennsylvania, when she died the property would pass to her heirs if she had no will or to the designated person in her will.

Your post indicates that you are trying to buy the home. From who? The other heirs? If so, why are you living in the home rent-free? Technically, you and your husband should be paying the rental value for the home and should have a lease agreement with an option to buy from the other heirs. If that is the situation, then why can you not have a rental agreement showing that you have made 2 years of on-time payments for rent? This can even go toward the purchase price and this possibly can be reported to the credit bureaus to help build your credit history.

If your husband is the sole heir, then who are you trying to buy the property from? You and your husband would already own it. In such case, there is no one that you have to buy it from as the land can be deeded into your own name. The only issue might be that if you are trying to refinance the mortgage into your own name you would have to apply but I still do not see why this would be an issue since you would already own the land.

If you wish to rebuild your credit, also get a secured credit card. You can find cards at www.cardtrak.com. You want a card that will allow you to graduate to a regular credit card after 18-24 months of payments. You also want a card that does not carry a huge application fee. If the fee is over $100 you have paid way too much. You have to thoroughly check this out. Are you a credit union member? If not, have you looked into joining one? Talk with them about issuing a credit card with a small balance, like $500 to start. If they issue the card, use it every other month to buy a tank of gas or a week of groceries. When the bill comes, pay it off in full. By doing that, the credit card issuer will report your on time payments. After you have established a good track record, you can ask them to increase the credit line. You can also expand by adding a mortgage or small car loan at some point.

But the fact that you had to file a chapter 13 signifies that you got into trouble financially at some point. Why? Was it a job loss or medical issue or a spending issue? If it was spending, you need to get smarter about credit and how you use it. If it was a job loss or medical issue, you don't have a problem with credit but you don't want to let yourself get in a position where a crisis like a job loss throws you into a bigger crisis. No matter what you hear on the new about how the stock market is up, the recovery doesn't seem to have touched many people. Maybe you are one of the lucky ones but if your experience is that you have not really recovered then you also need to be smarter about how you use credit and try not to have things like credit card debt.

All of the points that Ms. Hunter raises are valid.

In addition, if the house was left to you by will, you don't have to purchase it, you own it, except for having legal title conveyed to you from your mother-in-law's estate (which has to be administered).

You will have to deal with the mortgage if there is one, and that will be affected by your recent bankruptcy. Utility bills addressed to you at the home's address are evidence that you reside there. So is other mail that you receive there.

As far as the real property taxes, they cannot be put into your name until you have legal title to the property, but you can and should continue to pay them, or you will be facing a tax sale.

THIS RESPONSE IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE, SINCE I DO NOT HAVE ALL OF THE INFORMATION THAT WOULD BE REQUIRED, AND I DO NOT HAVE A REPRESENTATION AGREEMENT WITH YOU.

* If the answers to your question confirm that you have a valid issue or worthwhile claim, your next step should almost always be to establish a dialog with a lawyer who can provide specific advice to you. Contact a lawyer in your county or township.

* Another reason for contacting a lawyer is that it is often impossible to give a good answer in the Internet Q&A format without having more information. The unique circumstances of your situation and things that you may not have thought to mention in your question may completely change the answer. If you want to be sure that you have a complete answer to your question and an understanding of what that answer means, establish a connection with a lawyer who practices in the area of your concern.