Q: My husband passed away 7 years ago with a mortgage in his name only that is now in default. Can they take my new home?
The mortgage was gotten about 20 years ago. He passed away 7 years ago and I continued to live in the house for 2 years before allowing someone to move in and take over the payments. The company never allowed me to put the mortgage in my name and the person has since defaulted on the payments and the company has started foreclosure procedures. Five years ago I purchased a house to retire to in a different state. Can they take the newer house that was purchased after my husband's death or hold me accountable of the defaulted mortgage?
A:
The issue is whether you were liable for the repayment of the money. This is done in most instances by a separate note so that a lender can go after someone, even if the property becomes worthless. Simply inheriting the interest of your deceased spouse does not make you liable for repayment of the debt. Of course, the lender will likely be able to take the property and sell it to pay itself as much as possible.
You need to retain an attorney to protect your interest as you may be entitled to money if the property sell for more than is owed on it.
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