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House forecloses, no other assets or property

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jbm1983

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CA

My father died in March 2008, had no will, and I'm the personal representative.


The only assets my father possessed were the house (which was worth just a little over $100,000) and tax refund checks worth $1900 (haven't deposited or cashed yet). My sister and I (the only beneficiaries) weren't able to pay the mortgage and the house is about to foreclose, or probably already has since someone already put a new lock in on the front door with a security padlock attached to it. So, all my father has is the refund checks. My father filed Ch. 13 bankruptcy in 2004, so he has a lot of creditors and other liens on the house.

My questions:

1) How would my probate lawyer be compensated, if he actually does, if there isn't enough money to pay his complete percentage fee?

2) What percentage will my lawyer get from the $1900? Will I as personal rep get any percentage as well?

3) Can I be held personally and financially responsible for paying the probate lawyer or anyone else in any way?

4) What will cover all the paperwork fees associated with filing probate with the courts? Will that come out of the $1900? And how much of it?

5) Can the probate lawyer and probate courts bill me for costs? Do I have the right to not pay these bills as my sister and I have no money and didn't realize my father's financial problems before his death and before probate?

6) After the house forecloses, what will be my next step as a personal rep if there is any?




-Thanks
 
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anteater

Senior Member
Is there any equity in the house?

Have you already been appointed by the court as the personal representative?
 

Dandy Don

Senior Member
What is the outstanding balance due on the mortgage? If your father had been making payments for a long time and has equity in the home, you can ask the mortgage company if they wish to sell the home to get the remaining mortgage balance paid off and then you would share in the profits.
 

Dandy Don

Senior Member
Are these state or federal tax refund checks or are they specifically the stimulus payments recently issued by the IRS? If they are stimulus payments you will be able to cash them by taking them to the bank where he had his account. You may also want to discuss this with his bankruptcy trustee to see if he has any ideas about how you could cash them in or whether he would claim them to settle some of the bankruptcy debts.
 

jbm1983

Junior Member
Are these state or federal tax refund checks or are they specifically the stimulus payments recently issued by the IRS? If they are stimulus payments you will be able to cash them by taking them to the bank where he had his account. You may also want to discuss this with his bankruptcy trustee to see if he has any ideas about how you could cash them in or whether he would claim them to settle some of the bankruptcy debts.

They are two federal checks: one regular refund and one stimulus check.

My father's Ch. 13 bankruptcy case was dismissed right after he died.

I filed for probate b/c I thought there would be some actually money in his estate, but with the foreclosure we realize they're no money in his estate for us. Now it seems I regret even filing for probate.
 

Dandy Don

Senior Member
If you filed for probate you should have received letters testamentary soon after filing (the document that legally authorizes you to claim any and all assets for the estate). You could take those letters to any bank and deposit the checks into an estate account or cash them.

You should be talking to a probate attorney to get advice on whether you can close/cancel probate now since there are no assets of any value in the estate and would only be consumed by debt.
 

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