Death of mortage holder

[menlee]

What is the name of your state? North Carolina
My mother inlaw passed away in Jan. and she held the mortage of the trailer we are living in.my wife spoke to a friend of a friend lawyer who told us to stop paying the mortage and find a new place to live.
Well the mortage comp.came to my house and said we have to leave and to go live in our car.
I shut the door on them.
Can they force us to leave?
and how soon?
should we pay the mortage to make them go away?
My wife is freaking so a little advice would be wonderful

THANKS

[BelizeBreeze]

Your post is confusing. Did your mother-in-law hold the mortgage or did she own the mortgage (i.e., purchase the 'home' and let you live there)?

[menlee]

Sorry about that im not very good at typing
my mother inlaw bought the trailer from vanderbuilt but didnt want it any longer she begged us to take over the payments so she could move in with her new husband.
all we did was send in the payments didnt change any paper work.
thankyou for such a fast reply

menlee

[BelizeBreeze]

You're welcome, but you're not going to like my further reply.

Since you are not the legal owner, have no assignment of ownership from the (now deceased) legal owner and the legal owner is now dead, start packing.

The mortgage holder is well within their rights to demand their property be returned.

In fact, the only way I can see that you have any hope at all is that probate be opened on the mother-in-law's estate, you purchase the trailer from the estate so that the mortgage is satisfied.

Originally Posted by menlee

What is the name of your state? North Carolina
My mother inlaw passed away in Jan. and she held the mortage of the trailer we are living in.my wife spoke to a friend of a friend lawyer who told us to stop paying the mortage and find a new place to live.
Well the mortage comp.came to my house and said we have to leave and to go live in our car.
I shut the door on them.
Can they force us to leave?
and how soon?
should we pay the mortage to make them go away?
My wife is freaking so a little advice would be wonderful

THANKS

my wife spoke to a friend of a friend lawyer who told us to stop paying the mortage and find a new place to live.

I hope you did not pay this lawyer any money. If you did, ask for a refund.

[divgradcurl]

Since you are not the legal owner, have no assignment of ownership from the (now deceased) legal owner and the legal owner is now dead, start packing.

Why is this the case? The MIL died, but that doesn't mean the trailer doesn't belong to anyone -- what about the MIL's estate? Who is responsible for the estate? Did it go through probate (or maybe it was not required to go through probate)? Who owns the property now?

The mortgage holder is well within their rights to demand their property be returned.

Why? The mortgage has to be paid to remain in the property, but the death of the mortgagee isn't a reason for the mortgagor to foreclose on the property, unless the mortgage is in arears -- and even then, they probably have to go through some sort of foreclosure.

Maybe some more facts would be helpful...

[BelizeBreeze]

Because the poster doesn't have a claim to the trailer at this point. As I said, the ONLY way they can make a claim is IF what is owed on the trailer is less than the apportioned split after probate then they can purchase the trailer from the estate.

However, at this point, the legal owner of the trailer is the lien holder. The payments made on behalf of MIL are worthless.

[divgradcurl]

However, at this point, the legal owner of the trailer is the lien holder. The payments made on behalf of MIL are worthless.

I'm not so sure -- I guess it depends on more facts than we have. If the title to the trailer is in the name of the mother, then the lienholder only has a lien, not ownership -- the only way to turn a lien into ownership is through foreclosure.

If the lienholder also holds the title (like in an auto purchase) then I would agree with you -- but then its not really a mortgage anyway, its a loan.

It all depends on some facts we don't have. If it is really a mortgage, then its gotta go through probate and/or foreclosure. If it is really just a loan, even if the payments are structured like a mortgage and the OP is confused as to whether they are paying a loan or a mortgage, then you are correct.

I don't think we are really disagreeing -- I only jumped in because I don't think things are as cut-and-dried here as your first post seemed to indicate.

[menlee]

OK...here are some more facts. Mobile homes have titles like cars. I am assumming that we have been paying a mortgage but I guess if you look at it another way it might just be a loan.

There is no estate. In NC, there has to be at least $10,000 for there to be an estate opened. We are $1,000 off so there was no estate opened. When my mother first died, the mortgage co called asking for Februarys payment. I told them that they need to contact her husband (someone she met a couple years after she purchased this mobile home). The lady that I spoke to was VERY rude (go figure). Since then, the "mortgage" co has called our house up to 8 times a day asking for money. We either do not answer or when we do we tell them to call the person taking care of her affairs (her husband). I was told that I am a renter (even if I was making the payments directly to the mortgage co every month) and they have no right to contact me.

There are some more facts. Advice anyone???

[divgradcurl]

BB's advice was the right advice then:

"Since you are not the legal owner, have no assignment of ownership from the (now deceased) legal owner and the legal owner is now dead, start packing.

The mortgage holder is well within their rights to demand their property be returned.

In fact, the only way I can see that you have any hope at all is that probate be opened on the mother-in-law's estate, you purchase the trailer from the estate so that the mortgage is satisfied."

You'll need to find another place to live.

[menlee]

The question now is how long do we have until we have to move?
thanks so much for your help.

There is no estate. In NC, there has to be at least $10,000 for there to be an estate opened.

There is a small estates act in NC....

North Carolina Law Summary

Small Estates General Summary: Small Estate laws were enacted in order to enable heirs to obtain property of the deceased without probate, or with shortened probate proceedings, provided certain conditions are met. Small estates can be administered with less time and cost. If the deceased had conveyed most property to a trust but there remains some property, small estate laws may also be available. Small Estate procedures may generally be used regardless of whether there was a Will. In general, the two forms of small estate procedures are recognized:

1. Small Estate Affidavit -Some States allow an affidavit to be executed by the spouse and/or heirs of the deceased and present the affidavit to the holder of property such as a bank to obtain property of the deceased. Other states require that the affidavit be filed with the Court. The main requirement before you may use an affidavit is that the value of the personal and/or real property of the estate not exceed a certain value.

2. Summary Administration -Some states allow a Summary administration. Some States recognize both the Small Estate affidavit and Summary Administration, basing the requirement of which one to use on the value of the estate. Example: If the estate value is 10,000 or less an affidavit is allowed but if the value is between 10,000 to 20,000 a summary administration is allowed.

North Carolina Summary:
Under North Carolina statute, where as estate is valued at less than $10,000, an interested party may, thirty (30) days after the death of the decedent, issue a small estate affidavit to collect any debts owed to the decedent. Prior to the recovery of any assets of the decedent, a copy of the affidavit shall be filed in the office of the clerk of superior court of the county where the decedent had his domicile at the time of his death.

North Carolina Requirements:
North Carolina requirements are set forth in the statutes below.

ARTICLE 25. Small Estates.

§ 28A-25-1. Collection of property by affidavit when decedent dies intestate.
etc.

[BelizeBreeze]

The only problem with this SJ is the difference between a home and a trailer. A trailer is treated the same as a vehicle for purposes of title, which is held by the lienholder. In this case, it's move on down the road.

As to the last question on the table, you can wait until eviction, which is usually 30 to 60 days to completion, or you can try to speak with the lienholder about taking over payments. either way, you MUST discuss the matter with the lienholder.

Originally Posted by BelizeBreeze

The only problem with this SJ is the difference between a home and a trailer. ...

I was just giving small estates info for whatever it is worth ....

[menlee]

My mother did not have anything. There were some small items that were left in the will to my siblings and I but that is about it. My mother died January 22 of this year. Mostly what she left was major CC debt.

I tried to talk to the mortgage co and there is NO talking to them. They were very very rude and would not talk reasonably. I am assumming that they have no right to call me and come to the house harrasssing us being as my step father is the one handling all her affairs. I referred them to him (or tried to when I was able to get some words into the mostly one sided conversation) and they are not making much of an attempt to contact him. I think my first mistake was making the payments directly to the mortgage co instead of through my mother when this whole deal started.

I have no desire to take the mortgage over-the amount of it is not worth what this place is worth (my mother was swindled a bit). I am just trying to find out how much time we have here before we have to move. We are in the process of buying a house but this takes time.

Thanks!