I'm not even sure if this is falls under Real Estate or Family Law...

11 years ago, my father passed away. Immediately after his death (I was 20) my grandfather took me to a lawyer, where he asked me to sign off on a Quit Claim Deed. I discovered then, that my name was on the deed to my father's house.

I moved in and resumed mortgage payments. I had no "official" information, no will, etc. but a lawyer told me it was okay to continue paying with no question, etc.

A few months ago, we received a random letter stating our mortgage would be increasing slightly due to an increase in the life insurance premium. I called the bank... etc. etc.

I'm at the point now, where the mortgage lender (bank) is helping to mediate the insurance claim. I will be getting the remaineder of the balance paid due to the insurance, however, IF I can get a refund on the 10+ years of payments I've made I need to provide a certified copy as the "Official Representative of the Estate"

Can this be done retroactively? If so, how? I have no idea if this document previously existed or even how to find out. Thanks in advance!

Would I get into this without legal representation? No.

Could the mortgage company/bank pull the financing? Yes. The person on the mortgage papers is deceased. Will they? I have no idea.

If so you would be required to get a mortgage in your own name.

I'm amazed that the estate Attorney didn't notify the bank.

The question about retroactive payments is a good one and I'd only be guessing. I can see both sides of that argument.

Did anyone collect on the life insurance at the time of your father's death? Was this insurance, in fact, mortgage insurance and there IS no mortgage?

Need more info.

The claim should be paid from the time of death, so they should pay the amount due on mortgage at the time of death. And they pay you the balance.

But I doubt it will happen without an attorney.

Also most likely only the principal amount, not interest.
So you may look into how much of those 10 years was interest and how much was principal.

I do plan on finding representation.

There is no question of this. The insurance company is paying the remaining balance, so the home will be paid off. I just need the documentation to get reimbursed for payments since his date of death.


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You and me both! :eek: I feel partially to blame for not researching further, but as a 20 yr old, and seeing as I addressed these concerns with a lawyer, I never would have thought he was misleading me. :mad:

No one collected life insurance at the time of his death. His only known life insurance policy was connected to this mortgage and the company was unaware until I received the letter and notified them a few months ago.

The mortgage has gone on, without interuption, paid by me. There is a life insurance policy rolled into it. It IS a traditional mortgage, not a mortgage insurance policy.

This is exactly what the lender and myself are working for. The insurance company will only pay me the balance beyond the date of death if I show official documentation as Representative of the Estate. Something I do not have - I'm just wondering IF I can get documentation like this retroactively through a lawyer.

Agreed.

Yes, interest will be taken out. The lender has given me an approximation of the amount I can expect, interest excluded.

Which leads into the first question I wondered as I read this thread: What was your signing a quitclaim deed all about? Apparently you and your father owned the property jointly, with right of survivorship, so upon his death the property became yours. But your grandfather and his lawyer determined that it would be better (for reasons having to do with the mortgage insurance) to keep the property in your father's estate.

If your father's estate was not submitted to probate, yes, it may be possible to file a probate case now. But I doubt if you could do it retroactively.

When I signed the Quit Claim deed, my dad's name was not on it (not on any sort of deed at all - only the mortgage book). Just my grandfathers and my own. (I had zero knowledge about any of this before his death) My grandfather wanted his name off. It was signed, he was free and clear and I took on the responsibility.

Later, I consulted with another lawyer who told me, "Just keep paying and live there as long as you want. The bank doesn't care or need to know anything - as long as their money keeps rolling in."

Again, I should have questioned another source, but I thought I was taking the right steps at the time. :/

I have only one word - YIKES!

OK, so your grandfather and you were on the deed and you signed a deed transferring it just to your name. So that part is probably OK. However, the bank could have called the loan if they knew about it. Again, it's a moot point since the insurance is apparently paying the balance.

So the only issue is getting reimbursed for what you have paid all these years. I think the insurance company has a right to determine that you are entitled to reimbursement. I'm just not sure what that proof should be. And I would suggest that you get an attorney to handle that.

A QC deed from grandfather to grandson? Normally a grantee doesn't sign a deed. I'm just as confused as ever.

I think I'll just walk away from this thread. :rolleyes:

No a deed from grandfather AND grandson to just grandson.

Oh, OK. But what does the grandfather's late son (grandson's father, presumably) have to do with it? Is it GF's son's estate we are talking about, or grandfather's estate? And was the grandfather the mortgagor, or the father (son)?

As far as I can tell, the father was the mortgagee and had a life insurance policy to pay off the mortgage if he died.

My father at some point transferred his father and myself, his DAUGHTER ;) onto the deed. His name was removed completely.

Upon death, my grandfather took me to a lawyer and had his name removed by quit claim.

I was left as the only one on the deed. The mortgage is in my late father's name.

Yes, my father (mortgagee) had a life insurance policy to pay off the mortgage if he died.

I know this is confusing - so far I can't get a lawyer to call me back!

Ok. Thanks for the clarification.

I suspect that the insurance company is as confused as I was and thinks that the property was your father's when your father died. It may be that the company is still obligated to pay a death benefit, anyway, but, if so, they should clearly understand the circumstances, else you could later be charged with insurance fraud. If they understand, they should see that there is no way an "Official Representative of [your father's] Estate" needs to sign anything.