Q: Hi. I inherited a house in TN. I am the personal rep and sole beneficiary. There is no money for the estate account yet.
When my mother passed recently, she had a loan and credit card that totaled about 22K. Around 100K mortgage remains on the house, and I am making payments as a Successor in Interest. I plan on having an estate sale to help fund the estate account. It may not cover all of it. I live in another state with my own mortgage and am considering renting her house for a while to pay the TN house mortgage and see if rates come down and possibly sell at that time. A rep from a collection company has reached out. I know my mother's debt does not become my debt as a beneficiary. Could they take me as the personal rep to court? Could they force a sale of the house to pay them back? Do I even tell them the estate account is not yet funded? Thank you.
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A:
If you have not filed for Probate, then do not without the advice of counsel. You probably do not need to, which will attract creditor claims. Hire a TN attorney to search the title, determine heirship and record an
Affidavit of Heirship. As one of the owners, or the owner, you can rent it. Her debts are not yours, but can be used as liens against the property. Additionally your attorney needs to protect assets from claims.
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