Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Tennessee

Without seeing the documents it is hard to say but more than likely you are now responsible. There are many issues here including whether your mother had a will and if so, how did she dispose of the house in the will. This is really a complicated question because if she had assets and a will and the will was crafted one way those assets might go to payoff some or all the mortgage - even if the assets were not left to the person to whom the house was left. If the will was crafted a different way - the house would pass to whoever was specified in the will with the mortgage. There are even more possibilities not to mention she may have died intestate (no will). I'm afraid this is not a question that can be answered in this type of forum. I tried to give you some of the possibilities as examples. You need to see a lawyer very quickly because depending on how the house passed in the will you may or may not be responsible.

If you are responsible - you need to talk with the bank. A short sale might be your best bet if the house cannot be sold fast enough.

Good luck to you ...