Property with a tenant left in a will, to be repossessed

[Legalseek1]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NY
Hello, my father's health is failing and he has left everything to me in his will, most likely as a symbolic gesture of atonement for a lot of awful things in the past. He hasn't lived well or wisely though, and has a lot of debt, and a mortgage and car loan left that are both worth more than the house and car. To minimize costs for my husband and I, we are considering probably letting the bank repossess the house and car. However the house has a tenant (under-the-table tenant, probably). What do we need to do legally regarding the tenant in order to let the house be repossessed. And are there any other tips to help us minimize the financial damage to my family after funeral/burial costs etc? I am named executor and sole beneficiary in his will. We live in the state of NY.

 

[justalayman]

first, don't go thinking just because you let the bank take those items means you get what is left. If any of those items a worth less than what the loan against them is, the creditor has a claim to your fathers estate for the remainder.


as to the tenant; you really do not need to do anything. The lender will kick them out if/when it comes to the foreclosure. It might be nice to let the tenant know what is happening. It is not nice to surprise folks like that.

And are there any other tips to help us minimize the financial damage to my family after funeral/burial costs etc?

Not sure what you mean. How would your fathers estate cause you financial damage?

 

[Legalseek1]

I believe he has a life insurance policy, but I'm unsure for how much, but hopefully that will help toward funeral and burial costs. I feel pity for him but he pretty much tormented my mother and I for the entirety of my childhood and then some (even though she divorced him when I was a baby, we had to call the police frequently to come help us because he was trying to break in, yelling death threats, threatening to burn down the house etc), and in later years he treated my half-sister and her mother badly as well. So I want to do the humane thing for him as I would for any human being, but not looking forward to having it hurt our finances when we have 3 kids of our own. Basically I'll be relieved if we can break even against cremation, funeral, burial costs.

And yes I want to make sure we do right by the tenant legally. I feel he's at least owed a heads up so he can start looking for another apartment, whether it's legally required or not.

 

[justalayman]

a life insurance policy pays out to the named beneficiary. Unless that is the estate, that money will not be affected by the situation.


You need to start looking into the probate process in New York and playing with approximate numbers to see where things stand.

If you really want to be sure he is taken care of after death, it might be easier to simply pay that out of pocket and walk away from the estate situation.

If you are the bene on the insurance, that almost assuredly, would be the simplest way for you.