Havre De Grace, MD asked in Probate for Maryland

Q: Mom died-no will, has small bank acct & house she owes 23,000 on. I want to take over mortgage on home,what do i do 1st?

She has no spouse, me and my family have lived in the house with jer for past 3yrs. Don't want to do the wrong thing. I made a mortgage payment & homeowner assoc. Fee for march from my personal acct since she dies on March 2nd 2018...didnt want it to be late but didn't want to touch her acct. She has a February SSDI paper check sent in mail and March SSDI direct deposit in her acct. And her taxes should be deposited in her acct soon. Do I get to keep that for her final expenses and bills since she was alive for those periods to receive that money? I have Sister in Florida that agrees with what im trying to do but we are only living relatives besides her brothers and sister. She's not married and both her parents are deceased. Please help, thanks

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2 Lawyer Answers
Mark Oakley
Mark Oakley
Answered
  • Estate Planning Lawyer
  • Rockville, MD
  • Licensed in Maryland

A: You and your sister, if you are your mother’s only living children, are her sole heirs. Both of you are entitled to half of her estate assets. Your sister can elect to disclaim all or any part of her inheritance which would then go to you. You need to open an estate by making an appointment with the Register of Wills in the circuit court of the county where your mother resided when she died. You can also be appointed Personal Representative of the estate. This is necessary before you can access her accounts and retitle the deed to the house. As PR, you will open a new account in the name of the estate, and transfer all her other money into it. You can then use that money to pay the mortgage and utilities. You should obtain ten copies of her death certificate from the MD coroner’s Office as the bank and Register of Wills, and others, require them. You also need to notify Social Security. The Register of Wills will help you fill out the paperwork but you may need the assistance of a lawyer to help you with the required accounting and preparation of the deed. You cannot start distributing assets or expending your mother’s money until after you are appointed PR, and then only for estate administration purposes until it is time to distribute everything to you and your sister and close out the estate.

Richard Sternberg
Richard Sternberg
Answered
  • Probate Lawyer
  • Potomac, MD
  • Licensed in Maryland

A: First, you cannot take the SSDI checks. That is fraud. Report her demise to the Social Security Administration and return any check issued after she passed.

Second, you may continue paying the tiny mortgage from your own resources and keep track of your payments. You should be entitled to reimbursement from the estate.

Third, get a lawyer and file her probate. You are the natural selection as personal representative, and, as soon as you get your Letters, you can place the remains of her bank account into an estate account to keep paying the mortgage of estate administration fees. We could advise you from the other side of the state and even prepare your probate filings for you, but you’ll do better with a local probate lawyer. Find one by entering the county and “Probate Law” on Avvo.com.

If your sister agrees that you should retain the house for your family, you should be able to secure a mortgage in your own name to pay off the taxes, administration fees, prior mortgage, and your sister’s share. If she doesn’t want her share, she can waive it.

Continuing to pretend to be your mother by collecting her SSDI and paying the tiny, remaining mortgage could get you a lengthy visit to the Big House.

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