Q: My mother died in 2008 w/o a will. I petitioned the court to be administrator of her property. One of my siblings had
a judgment for an outstanding bill. The credit holder petitioned the court and a lien was placed on the property. My petition could not be granted because there was not a clear title for the property. Since I did petition the court, am I legal responsible for the mortgage? When I received a copy of my credit report, the lien holder of the property has been reporting it on my credit report.
A:
You are not liable for you mother's debts unless you co-borrowed with her or guaranteed the debt. If there is a valid lien against the property, your mother's heirs would either have to pay the debt secured by the property (in order to keep the property), or sell the property to pay the mortgage/lien debt. In other words, the creditor may be able to obtain payment of their debt from your mother's property (thus you and the other heirs would receive less from the estate), but you would not owe the debt yourself. (If your mother's estate lacked sufficient funds to pay the debt, the creditors would go unpaid (but so would the heirs)).
If your mother left a spouse and/or minor children living in the house, the creditor cannot force it to be sold to pay their debt until the spouse dies or abandons the property or the youngest child living there turns 18. If there are no such people, the creditor could possibly force you as administrator of the estate to sell the house to satisfy their debt. You should consult an experienced probate attorney for specific advice about your situation. Many offer free initial consultations. Good luck.
PS: My comments here are for general information only and are not legal advice about your specific situation nor do they create an attorney-client relationship. Contact a lawyer in your state for legal advice.
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