questions & answers

Question: My father passed away in September, 2016. I am the executor of his estate and I have a lawyer representing me and the estate. His house is paid off but he has a 7,000 home equity line of credit. There is no money in the estate to pay any bills except the utilities. It is for sale and hopefully will be sold soon. I received an Act 91 notice. Can a house be foreclosed on that is in probate? There is no money to pay the home equity line of credit bill or the taxes owed till the house is sold

Answer: You may wish to speak with your local attorney about this and/or contact an attorney in whichever state the house is located in. But, as a general rule, yes, when a person who had a mortgage on a property dies, the duty to continue to make scheduled payments falls on that person’s estate, and if the estate fails to make those payments while the property is in probate, then the lender may initiate foreclosure proceedings. In such situations, the executor of the estate has several options. Among other things, the executor can speak *right away* with the lender to try to postpone the foreclosure until the property has cleared probate and is subsequently sold; go to court to request a delay; or find a way to borrow the money required to continue the payments.

Question: My father passed away in September, 2016. I am the executor of his estate and I have a lawyer representing me and the estate. His house is paid off but he has a 7,000 home equity line of credit. There is no money in the estate to pay any bills except the utilities. It is for sale and hopefully will be sold soon. I received an Act 91 notice. Can a house be foreclosed on that is in probate? There is no money to pay the home equity line of credit bill or the taxes owed till the house is sold

Answer: You may wish to speak with your local attorney about this and/or contact an attorney in whichever state the house is located in. But, as a general rule, yes, when a person who had a mortgage on a property dies, the duty to continue to make scheduled payments falls on that person’s estate, and if the estate fails to make those payments while the property is in probate, then the lender may initiate foreclosure proceedings. In such situations, the executor of the estate has several options. Among other things, the executor can speak *right away* with the lender to try to postpone the foreclosure until the property has cleared probate and is subsequently sold; go to court to request a delay; or find a way to borrow the money required to continue the payments.