Value of trash is exactly nothing. But not knowing the state greenbutton is working in or their probate requirements, I would document for example “10 dumpsters of damaged household items”. Would I include that on an official inventory? No. But if a creditor appeared I would have support for the estate being insolvent, without assets to sell to meet obligations.
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Great explanation!
Hope the lawyer, executor, and family can have clarity on these legal terms and local probate requirements.
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Or negative value if the cost to dispose of it exceeds its salvage / recycling value.
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Agree that trash is an expense and burden to properly dispose of and/or recycle.
And remember…time is money too. Those disposing of the trash, and sifting through the debris should be compensated for their time.
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well, the lawyer was contacted and several details were clarified directly by him and that info passed back to the executor. A sigh of relief even if there is still so much to do.
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No, the bank has a lien on the house/property, not on anything IN the house. It has no value anyway.
My father died in debt (all unsecured). No one tried to attach any of his personal property (clothing, jewelry, cell phone, computer). He was horrible at finances, but the one thing he did correctly was to have a little bit of life insurance list my mother as beneficiary to that went directly to her.
All his personal property was just given away (300 baseball hats) or thrown away - well, except that which I’m still going through now that my mother died.
Just make sure that anything your DIL liquidates is hers to sell or give away.
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These are unsecured debt. IF there is anything to probate, those creditors can file claims against the estate. If they THINK there are assets to be had, the creditors can open an estate (which costs money and most aren’t willing to do that). There may not be anything in the estate to pay unsecured creditors. If not, those creditors don’t get paid. If the executor told your DIL to dispose of the personal property, then he must feel it has no value. She doesn’t have to do all the work of disposing of assets and then give the money to the executor or creditors.
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What they have been told, in the last conversation with the lawyer, is that while the bank is not anxious to foreclose and they do understand the complicated situation – the lawyer’s advice is to make a good faith house payment or two. The payments are at least 4 months behind, and probably 6 or 7 – and the sale of the home is maybe two or three more months away.
In our state, there is a law determining the order of debt payment. The funeral costs first, then the lawyer, then the mortgage, etc. So legally, she would be in her rights to keep sales money; my son/DiL have forwarded what little has been collected to the estate account, mostly so the electricity can be turned back on and the small hole in the roof fixed. What little was bequeathed to her directly as insurance beneficiary was handed over for the lawyer’s retainer (executor refused to pay it).
So I agree that DiL should be keeping money that will be made from object sales, but I think she is so concerned about losing the sale (and proceeds thereof) of the house that she is willing to hand sales profits to the estate for mortgage payments. Not my advice, but also not my choice to make.
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I would not have done that, or advised her to do that. There is a reason insurance money is sent directly to the beneficiary. I also would not pay a few mortgage payments. It is not her responsibility. If the executor wants to give up his job, he should and someone else can be appointed.
If there is no equity in the house, there is nothing to ‘get’ at the end. It is very likely the bank will just wait, especially if there is little or no equity. In some states, if there is some equity left after a foreclosure, she would get that anyway (now the bank probably isn’t going to sell for top dollar if they have to give any overage back. In other states, once the foreclosure happens, the bank gets to keep any overage.
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all very true, yet here we are. Executor said he had no money for the retainer, DiL felt she had no choice and the insurance money was very small anyway. We have suggested replacing the executor but that is a protracted process and the executor doesnt really want to give it up, nor does DiL want to make him (it’s her uncle)
In our state, the bank takes complete ownership of the property and there is a period to contest that and then the sale happens at whatever price the bank (in this case, a credit union) sets. And state law gives all sale proceeds to the bank, even that above the lien.
I don’t know what else we can do apart from advising fiscal restraint on their part, but I can’t make them reach the same conclusions we have. Worst case is all the money spent reclaiming her possessions and emptying the house is lost for good, and we knew that going in.
Me neither. The executor refused to pay for good reason; there is no need. (If the attorney recommended that strategy, I’d find a new attorney as he gave advice to only benefit him/her. If the estate is insolvent, I’d get rid of the attorneys as the estate has no money to pay them.)
If the house if underwater, i.e., mortgage loans exceed possible sales value, I would not repair the roof. Just give the bank the keys after you remove the personal belongings. The executor – not the attorney – signs a quit claim deed turning it over to the bank, and the property is no longer an issue.
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Strongly agree with this. There are large corporate entities buying as-is homes right now, and don’t bother repairing the roof on what might be a tear-down.
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The house isn’t underwater, and the proceeds from any potential sale might not seem worth the trouble, but at least 5 figures seem likely and my son/DiL at least would like to recoup the funeral expenses and cleanout expenses. The only means to do that is the sale of the property, tear down or not.
If they are hoping to get something out of the sale- all the more reason not to spend actual cash dollars on repairs.
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Exactly: estate sale, “as-is”. Tamp down the emotion, as this is just a simple business transaction.
btw: estate sales are usually exempt from many typical owner disclosures, at least they are in CA.
And estate sales in my area are a clear signal “No inspection contingencies”.
green:
Nolo press has some excellent, and inexpensive books for DIY. Even if your D will continue with the attorney, getting educated on what to ask is worth a few bucks.
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Following up from way up thread about transferring the title to a trust. Our estate attorney isn’t sold. The state charges sizable transfer tax, I believe it’s 6%. Could be higher. Even for a modest home, it could be cheaper to go through probate than pay the transfer tax.
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wow, your Trust lobby must not be very effective! Transferring real property to a family trust is exempt from transfer taxes in CA. Just a small admin/recording doc charge.
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