Indianapolis, IN asked in Estate Planning, Real Estate Law and Probate for Indiana

Q: Do I still make the mortgage payment of some who died and was the sole owner of the property or does it go to the estate

I had a verbal agreement with the sole owner of the home who died to finance the home in my name. His wife who can't legally sell the home has been taking my money but it hasn't been going to the mortgage nor the estate what do I do? She has lied about so much when it comes to the probate and i don't know what to do.

1 Lawyer Answer
Nina Whitehurst
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Answered

A: Oh, what a tangled web you have woven. This is a classic do-it-yourself mistake, and it will be difficult and expensive to fix. You need to hire an attorney WITHOUT DELAY. Look for an attorney with experience in both real estate litigation and probate litigation. Be prepared to expand your search beyond your immediate area to find the right one.

It is impossible to explain all that would be involved in fixing this situation for you in a free ask-a-lawyer forum. Be prepared for a lot of bad news about all of the mistakes you made by not hiring an attorney in the first instance, when you were entering into the agreement to purchase the home.

To anybody reading this who is not the person who posed this question: DO NOT LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU. Anytime you are engaging in a transaction involving real estate, whether as a seller or a buyer or a lender or a borrower, HIRE AN ATTORNEY TO ENSURE IT IS DONE CORRECTLY. This is for YOUR protection. This guy might easily end up losing the house and his entire investment unless he throws a ton of money at it, and it might not be worth it. A stitch in time saves nine. The stitch in time would have been hiring an attorney when he was entering into the installment contract to purchase the house.

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