Father's death, is mom stuck with old legal fees?

[Cylinse]

Michigan Here,

So a bit scattered, and I apologize up front for any incorrect terminology.

My father passed away a week ago with no will etc. I believe the definition would be a small estate? (Less than $1000 in the checking account, around $7000 in credit card debt, auto loan and mortgages). My mom has taken it upon herself to contact the creditors, get him removed from the mortgage and get the car back to the dealership / contact the auto loan company. All seems to be going better than I honestly thought it would.

The big question of the day is this. About 10 years ago my dad had retained the services of an attorney to file a suit against his former employer for the way he was terminated. I believe his bill tallied up to the $35000 mark with the attorney, and got nowhere with the lawsuit which was eventually dropped. Dad has been paying the attorney on a monthly basis, as well as a few ~$4000 chunks of cash over the past years. My mom contacted the attorney to let him know that dad has passed and was informed that his legal fees would pass onto her and she owed $18000 still. She states that she was never involved with the lawsuit (name should not be on any agreements?). The attorney also refuses to send over anything other than a one page bill stating the original balance and the amount due, which seems really shady to me.
Mom is scared to death of being sued by him when money is extremely tight for her already but is planning on just paying him.

Looking for a bit of starting advice basically. Is it possible that she does indeed owe this debt? Is he required to provide a statement of time spent, as well as a original contract or similar? Should we pay this, or ignore him, or prepare for a court battle?

 

[bcr229]

My condolences on your loss.

Your mom may want to enlist the services of a probate attorney to help her determine which of your father's debts have priority over the others, and which debts she may be responsible for paying. Since Michigan is not a community property state your mother shouldn't be in a hurry to pay anything off just yet.

https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/are_you_responsible_for_the_debt_of_your_deceased_spouse

 

[Cylinse]

Thank you for the fast reply and condolences. I have been a broken record on the probate attorney since the day after his passing, but she seems to want to take it on herself. (She has a friend apparently that "everything worked out for"). I will see if I can convince her to setup a meeting with one, myself and my brother to discuss options.

It just seems odd that this attorney in question would deem that the debt is hers since dad passed, but would refuse to provide any documentation or statements.

 

[Taxing Matters]

Unless she also signed the fee agreement she is not personally liable for the fees, absent some rather unusual circumstance. Moreover, the lawyer would need to sue her to enforce the fee agreement and, as to your mother, the statute of limitations is almost certainly expired notwithstanding that your father had made periodic payments on it. The lawyer is probably out of luck in collecting anything other than perhaps something from your father's estate.

 

[Cylinse]

Thank you Taxing Matters! This is along the lines of what I was expecting. We will play it lightly by ear and bring an attorney in if needed to resolve any complications.

Thanks again both of you for your prompt help, it sets my mind at ease.

 

[Dandy Don]

How did she get his name "removed from the mortgage"? Is she going to get a different loan so she can continue making payments on the property until it is paid off in full? Or is she going to stop paying the mortgage?

 

[Zigner]

How did she get his name "removed from the mortgage"?

A simple affidavit may be all that is (was) needed.

Is she going to get a different loan so she can continue making payments on the property until it is paid off in full?

No need.

Or is she going to stop paying the mortgage?

It's not an either/or matter.

Of course, I'm assuming that Mom and Dad were both on the mortgage.

 

[Taxing Matters]

How did she get his name "removed from the mortgage"?

Assuming, as is likely, that the home was owned by the mother and father as tenants by the entirety (and in Michigan if a husband and wife own property as joint tenants with a right of survivorship the ownership is automatically tenants by the entirety) then the home became solely the property of the mother when the father died. As a result, having the father's name on the mortgage is worthless to the lender, so the lender should have no problem agreeing to get his name off the mortgage. Of course, it wouldn't have really been necessary to do it.

Is she going to get a different loan so she can continue making payments on the property until it is paid off in full?

There is no need to get a new loan. Under a provision of the federal Garmin-St. Germain Depository Institutions Act of 1982 (12 U.S.C. § 1701j-3) as long as the mother continues to pay the mortgage payments the lender is precluded from trigger any due on sale/transfer clause in the mortgage. She unless she defaults on the mortgage, she can keep the current mortgage in place.

Or is she going to stop paying the mortgage?

Well, that obviously wouldn't be the smart choice. She'd face foreclosure in that circumstance.

 

[Cylinse]

It was a affidavit (I believe "of survivorship"?) and a copy of the death certificate (both parents were on the mortgage). She is now the sole person listed on the mortgage and is planning on keeping the house and continuing payments.

Thanks again everyone!