QUESTION
As surviving joint tenant of bank acct. with my sister, do I continue her auto mortgage pmts from this acct. while the property is in probate?
Asked on May 06th, 2017 on Estate Litigation - California
More details to this question:
Have a joint savings account with my recently deceased sister. It was not included in her Trust or Will. There is a monthly mortgage payment, which includes Insurance and Property Tax, automatically withdrawn from this joint account. The mortgaged property was not included in my sister's Trust or Will and has remained in my both my Sister's and her deceased husband's names. The property will go into probate. My sisters has two surviving children and her deceased husband has several surviving children. What is my responsibility for the mortgage payment now that my Sister is deceased?
1 ANSWER
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As the survivor of a joint bank account, those funds are yours and do not have to go through probate. You are not obligated to pay the mortgage payments for the house. However, if you do pay them, then you are entitled to be reimbursed by the estate. As a practical matter, you may want to continue paying the mortgage until the transfer of the house is sorted out for the beneficiaries.
If your sister had a "pour over" will that gave everything to her trust, then you may transfer the house to the trust with a Heggstad Petition. Otherwise, you may need a formal probate proceeding.
Contact an attorney for a full consultation.
Answered on May 06th, 2017 at 9:38 PM