What to do if it’s been 3 years since my husband’s mother died and we were renting out one of the houses she owned at the time but the bank now wants to sell it?
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What to do if it’s been 3 years since my husband’s mother died and we were renting out one of the houses she owned at the time but the bank now wants to sell it?
We are still living in the house but the bank is trying to argue they have rights to liquidate the property due to an old copy of a Will that was seemingly never filed anywhere (we checked the main records and it’s not filed and we also tried to find the laywer who supposedly helped write it and they do not seem to exist anywhere anymore). We hired a lawyer and they took our money and then disappeared as well, all phone numbers have been disconnected. If it wasn’t an official filed copy, why on earth does the bank have any jurisdiction over it at all?
Asked on October 17, 2013 under Estate Planning, New Mexico
Answers:
Nathan Wagner / Law Office of Nathan Wagner
Answered 10 years ago | Contributor
Is the bank selling the house because they are foreclosing on a defaulted mortgage loan? They can do this, no matter whose name is in your mother-in-law's Will. However, they have to use the right foreclosure procedures.
Or, is the bank trying to claim that your mother-in-law left the house to the bank in her Will? That would be truly strange, but I guess it is possible, in theory. To do that, however, the bank would probably have to start a case in probate court, and they would have to give your husband written notice of the case.
To sort this out, you will probably have to have help from a local real estate attorney or probate attorney.
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