question about transfering name on deed

[urbaneve]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? indiana

hello all

my mother just passed away about a week ago and i have a question about the deed on the house.

the house is paid off and was left to me in the will (which is pretty much air tight) -- how do i go about getting the house into my name.

i called the title company and they said i needed to hire a lawyer to handle it, but doing some reading online -- i have seen something called "affidavit of heirship" -- is this something i could use? i know indiana does not have the transfer upon death deed option so i am not sure where to start -- i would like to avoid paying a lawyer 200 an hour to find this information out.

would a quit claim deed satisfy the transfer of ownership or is there more?

also -- one of her bill collectors (she was sick with cancer) said they are going to put a lien on the house -- if the house is in my name can they still come after the homestead?

i know these are a lot of questions at once but it is better than making several posts lol

thanks in advance for the help

cheers

 

[anteater]

Your mother apparently had legitimate creditors. Your mother had at least one asset. The legitimate creditors need to be paid.

You should plan on paying that attorney.

 

[justalayman]

the house is paid off and was left to me in the will (which is pretty much air tight) -.

a will is meaningless until you probate the will. Here are the laws pertaining to probate:

Indiana Code TITLE 29, Article 1 Table of Contents

i know indiana does not have the transfer upon death deed option

well, they do but that is something that must be taken care of before there is a decedent.

would a quit claim deed satisfy the transfer of ownership or is there more?

just a question to you:

who do your propose is going to sign the deed for your deceased mother?

also -- one of her bill collectors (she was sick with cancer) said they are going to put a lien on the house -- if the house is in my name can they still come after the homestead?

well, first you would have to get it into your name which is going to require some form of probate. During that process, the creditor can most assuredly make a claim to the house.

they maybe able to place a lien after transfer, especially if probate was not done properly.

i know these are a lot of questions at once but it is better than making several posts lol

No problem, it is better than a bunch of individual posts especially since they are inter-related.

 

[urbaneve]

just a question to you:

who do your propose is going to sign the deed for your deceased mother

my aunt is the power of attorney for my mother -- she has the right to sign my mothers name


anteater:
i understand that creditors need to be paid -- however once a person dies, most times the debt is considered satisfied when a death certificate is presented. she was also paying on this account on a monthly basis. the time, money and effort that it would take for the creditor to take this to court would surpass the amount that they would receive from putting a lien on the house anyways.

after speaking with a lawyer, the heirs of her estate are not responsible for bills. the house was left to me in the will -- therefore it is mine and the bill collector cannot legally come after me to collect for the decedent.


also, my mother had it set up in her trust a non-probate clause stating that "By execution of one or more living trust instruments, I have made provisions for the non-probate distribution of my assets at the time of my death."..... so that sounds to me like there will be no probate court hearing necessary.

i guess we will see

 

[anteater]

my aunt is the power of attorney for my mother -- she has the right to sign my mothers name

A power of attorney is no longer valid after the person granting the power is deceased.

i understand that creditors need to be paid -- however once a person dies, most times the debt is considered satisfied when a death certificate is presented.

Most times? If you have statistics to validate that statement, I would like to see them.

the time, money and effort that it would take for the creditor to take this to court would surpass the amount that they would receive from putting a lien on the house anyways.

Possibly, but it isn't all that terribly expensive.

after speaking with a lawyer, the heirs of her estate are not responsible for bills.

That is true to the extent that the executor of a probate estate or the successor trustee of a living trust resolves and pays creditor claims before distributing any assets to the beneficiaries. If the lawyer left you with the impression that beneficiaries can make off with the assets while stiffing creditors, I suggest that you speak with another lawyer. The beneficiaries can be liable if actions have been taken to shaft creditors.

the house was left to me in the will -- therefore it is mine and the bill collector cannot legally come after me to collect for the decedent.

also, my mother had it set up in her trust a non-probate clause stating that "By execution of one or more living trust instruments, I have made provisions for the non-probate distribution of my assets at the time of my death."..... so that sounds to me like there will be no probate court hearing necessary.

Now, you've lost me. Who owned the house? Your mother herself or as part of a trust? If the the house was in a trust, then the trust document rules, not the will. If the house was not in the trust, the will rules and what a trust document says is not relevant.

 

[justalayman]

my aunt is the power of attorney for my mother -- she has the right to sign my mothers name

no she isn't and no she doesn't.



i

understand that creditors need to be paid -- however once a person dies, most times the debt is considered satisfied when a death certificate is presented. she was also paying on this account on a monthly basis. the time, money and effort that it would take for the creditor to take this to court would surpass the amount that they would receive from putting a lien on the house anyways.

didn't you say they intended on placing a lien on the property? Well, I guess they feel it is worth the trouble.

after speaking with a lawyer, the heirs of her estate are not responsible for bills. the house was left to me in the will -- therefore it is mine and the bill collector cannot legally come after me to collect for the decedent.

either you are misunderstanding what the lawyer said or that lawyer is an idiot. You are right, you are not liable for your mothers debts but HER estate IS.

also, my mother had it set up in her trust a non-probate clause stating that "By execution of one or more living trust instruments, I have made provisions for the non-probate distribution of my assets at the time of my death."..... so that sounds to me like there will be no probate court hearing necessary.

not if the title was in her name. For it to be in a trust, it had to be titled to the trust.

Guess she was talking about some other assets or simply forgot to include the house.

 

[urbaneve]

funny that you both would say that my aunt is not my mothers power of attorney, nor has the power to act on my mothers behalf, when i am sitting here looking at the document as i type this.

also, in the will my aunt is listed as my mothers personal representative and also -- if that was the case the my aunt would not be able to act on my mother behalf unless she was POA.

listed in the special directives of the trust it states that i am to receive the house and the others assets listed. it is listed in her will the same way - that i was bequeathed the house and all of its contents, as well as other assets listed. they threatened to put a lien on the house -- it hasnt happened yet.

and for reference, she didnt simply forget to include the house

and as far as those stats go ... i see if i can get you those stats. my father in law holds a doctorate in financing and he was the one who also agreed with the lawyer that unless the estate is worth over a certain amount -- they will usually drop it. especially in the cases that he has dealt with. they figure that by threatening people -- it will get them to pay. but it would have to go to probate and the non-probate clause will stop them from doing that.

and to add to that -- the other creditors have already dismissed any claims when the death certificate was produced. so -- i have 6 that have already dismissed collection. once i research the rest of the stats, i will give an update.

but all in all -- i guess there is still no answer on how to get the house into my name. sigh. it seems that this has turned into a debate about creditors trying to make claims.

thanks all -- we can consider this thread closed.