martha_chevasse
Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Georgia
My father died leaving his estate in equal parts to my brother, my stepmother and me. The only asset of the estate is the home, which had a mortgage of approximately $100K. The will stipulates that my stepmother could live in the home for up to two years following his death, at which time the home would be sold and the assets divided equally. Stepmother is also the executrix of the estate.
We are three months shy of the two-year mark and stepmother shows no indication of planning to leave. We do not have a good relationship since my father's death and have, for the most part, left her alone. However, I'd like to know what options we have should she, indeed, decide to stay... what the process is for having her removed from the home and the general timeframe it would take. Also, if she refuses to list the house at that time what can we, as heirs, do. Can we petition to have her removed as executrix if she violates the will at that point?
Additionally, she threatened at one point to allow the home to go into foreclosure if my brother and I did not pay the mortgage. We drafted a document that said we would pay it if we could list the home for sale at that time. She declined and secured a personal loan to cover the mortgage and her living expenses in the home for the past year or so. Is the estate responsible for any of her fees, interest, etc., related to that loan or simply the balance on the mortgage at the time of his death? She claims that all expenses related to her loan will be deducted from the eventual proceeds before the split, while we feel anything over the $100K is her personal responsibility to be paid back from her portion of the estate.
We do have a probate lawyer whom we consulted, but before we return to him I'd like to have an idea if the process involved is worth the money it would take to handle it, or if we should just let it ride for as long as she chooses to stay there.
My father died leaving his estate in equal parts to my brother, my stepmother and me. The only asset of the estate is the home, which had a mortgage of approximately $100K. The will stipulates that my stepmother could live in the home for up to two years following his death, at which time the home would be sold and the assets divided equally. Stepmother is also the executrix of the estate.
We are three months shy of the two-year mark and stepmother shows no indication of planning to leave. We do not have a good relationship since my father's death and have, for the most part, left her alone. However, I'd like to know what options we have should she, indeed, decide to stay... what the process is for having her removed from the home and the general timeframe it would take. Also, if she refuses to list the house at that time what can we, as heirs, do. Can we petition to have her removed as executrix if she violates the will at that point?
Additionally, she threatened at one point to allow the home to go into foreclosure if my brother and I did not pay the mortgage. We drafted a document that said we would pay it if we could list the home for sale at that time. She declined and secured a personal loan to cover the mortgage and her living expenses in the home for the past year or so. Is the estate responsible for any of her fees, interest, etc., related to that loan or simply the balance on the mortgage at the time of his death? She claims that all expenses related to her loan will be deducted from the eventual proceeds before the split, while we feel anything over the $100K is her personal responsibility to be paid back from her portion of the estate.
We do have a probate lawyer whom we consulted, but before we return to him I'd like to have an idea if the process involved is worth the money it would take to handle it, or if we should just let it ride for as long as she chooses to stay there.