Grandfather (94) died, lady friend (36) left before he had to be placed in an assisted living. He had updated Will placing her as Executor of Estate. Unable to locate her and have placed notice in paper. Other than paying the expense of having the will probated, what other options do we have to liquidate left real estate property? He has a home that is with reverse mortgage and property left by deceased wife.
Live in Texas.
I'm all for opening probate if need be but I’m wondering if Tootsie is on track that there’s no benefit to get involved in any of this mess.
RM will do a foreclosure and will get the property whether or not family does a thing. If he was behind on the required by the RM - like taxes & insurance- the RM likely is aware and has placed property on the out of compliance list which means they call in the loan. Unless you want to buy it at 95% of debt and within 90 - 120 days for most RM lending, the mortgage holder will do foreclosure. RMs deal with this all the time.
The other property left by wife that predeceased her husband (your grandfather) any idea what her will was and what her heirs were to be? Her will has to be dealt with and titles changed in order for her property to be his legally before he died. Did that happen?
Or it is still in grannies name?
Is this property worth anything and has property taxes been paid?
Is property “undivided interest” land for ownership? it’s common for ranchland with lots of sections in TX & real butt-rash to deal with
& were grandparents on Medicaid? I’m guessing probably not as that second property would most likely make them ineligible. But it could have slipped through. So either on Medicaid?
The person named in a will as excutor isn’t always the one appointed by the judge. Go to your GF County courthouse and speak with the probate department and they will walk you through this. Hopefully it’s a small county and they have time to do more than refer you to a lawyer although that’s probably where you need to head for at least a consultation. A phone call could get you started.
You may be better off without the lady friend. It’s not a legal responsibility on her part. A judge can appoint another executor.
What did GF want done with his property? By that I mean what does the will say?
Was his deceased wife your GM? Did GP legally own GM property? Did she have other heirs?
You can check at the same time to see if a will was probated for her (assuming she was in the same county as GP). You might learn the disposition of her property from that. Sometimes an affidavit of heirship is filed at the county clerks office to show that GP was GM heir. Sometimes nothing has been done. Sometimes there is a tax bill that has to be resolved before title can change.
Do you have access to the RM? What instructions are listed? Usually the house has to be placed on the market within x number of days after being vacated by the person on the mortgage. How long was GP in ALF before he passed?
Was it GF only or was GM name on the mortgage as well?
There are many ways this could play out depending on circumstances and what’s already been resolved. Does GF have living children who are named in the will?
I would call a lawyer. This sounds to much for someone to figure out by themselves.
Good Luck!