Q: What are the rights of a tenant when the landlord dies? What are the tenants rights?
My family and I signed a lease agreement two months ago. Payed already $5000.00 to the landlord for two months rent, deposit and last months rent. The landlord suddenly passed away three weeks into the lease. He does have a unemployed wife that has said she must go fight for the property in probate court. We were also told the mortgage has not been paid in over a year and my be in the process of foreclosure. We verbally agreed to pay directly to the mortgage company but now she has changed her mind. We are now being threatened with eviction if we don’t pay the rent to her. Need legal advice.
A: You need to sit down with a lawyer and review the lease, the will (if any exists and has been filed), and whatever other documentation you have of the financials to get a clear picture of who owns what at this point. Are you even sure she has a right to the property at all? There may be other heirs.
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