Hello,

My mother passed away March of 2005 leaving an acre of land a mobile home (manufactured home) and some cash.My brother and I were named excitor of estate we did not want the mobile home the Creditor repo'd the home and auctioned it off not for the full amount of loan, now want me to pay the difference ($37,000). Am I responsible for this and how far can they go to collect? There is none of the cash she left us, left.
Thanks: Jim

I think you need to consult an attorney. From what I know, the estate is responsible for any debts of the deceased up to the value of the estate. And those debts need to be paid BEFORE the distribution of the estate. So, if you took out any cash or received anything from the sale of the land, then you and your brother might be responsible for the remaining debt on the motorhome. But only up to the value of the estate.

Hello Jim:

Ask the creditor to send you copies of the original loan documents. There is a good chance that the loan was insured, or that your mother bought credit life insurance on the loan. It's certainly worth a shot.

Secondly, as Scott pointed out, the ESTATE is responsible for the loan - not you. Your mother owned the acreage. In addition to the cash (IF they knew about it - and that's not likely), the acreage is the only asset they can go after. When I say go after, in my view, all they can do is file a lien against the property and wait till it's sold to collect.

I do NOT believe they can sue you. Well, of course they can sue, but I don't think they'll win (unless they did know about the cash, and it was enough to cover the loan).

You are under the gun here and you can't ignore the problem. You DO need the services of an attorney. Tell him what I suggested. He might think, hey - you got this from an excon?? Wow - great!

Or he might think, hey - you got this from an excon? Waddya nuts?

excon

While I agree with what excon said, I wouldn't count on them not knowing about the cash. Especially if the estate was probated.

What they might do is sue the estate, whch means you and your brother have to answer as executors. They can then force an accounting of the estate. They cannot go after any assets of yours or sue you directly unless they can prove you took money out of the estate.

Might I ask how much was the estate worth? Has the land been sold? For how much? How much cash was taken out?