Father dies without Will, sons can’t pay for it a mort or probate

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Father dies without Will, sons can’t pay for it a mort or probate

Steven Peery
Member since 2021 · 5 posts · 2 votes

Okay I need some advice from some experience REI’s. Came across a situation where the father died 1-2 months behind on rent. He died WITHOUT a will and his 2 sons cannot really pay for probate attorney and or really keep the payments going long-term on the property in AZ. Debt on home is 250k and property appraised approx 800k. 2 sons lived with him at property and sounds like they don’t work.

Spoke to the son in charge and he said his main goal is to just have time to go through everything of his dads and sell stuff before he’s kicked out and of course would like to stay long-term but doesn’t know how that will happen.

I meet with them at the home this Saturday (1-8-22) to discuss options but I really don’t see any good ones. Obviously they have no claim on the house so can’t make any commitments with out having ownership of the home. I was going to offer to pay probate lawyer and 100,000 to each son at closed of probate in exchange for the house ( not knowing how long and expensive or what the market will be like once probate is over or what other skeletons might be in the closet.) I do not want to take advantage of them but want to help them as well as help myself at the same time.

Any thoughts to how I can work this where it will fairly benefit both parties involved with low risk for myself?

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  • Bill B.
    Investor · Las Vegas, NV · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 10k+ votes
    4y

    You making $450k and them splitting $200k is you not wanting to take advantage of them? Guess they got lucky there. :-)

    Maybe a probate specialist will step in here but I ASSUME if the obvious heirs can’t afford probate the courts will still run the probate system somehow, sell the house and give them the remainder after all debtors re paid off?

    There has to be some process that kicks in if say these two sons couldn’t be found. The court would still run its course somehow and try to find the heirs. 

    If they are the two true only heirs you’d think a probate attorney would be willing to work the case and bill them at the end if there’s truly an obvious $650k pile of money sitting there. Heck, I doubt anyone go a kick them out until it’s foreclosed and maybe that’s all it would take. If it gets foreclosed on the bank has to distribute everything above the debt. 

    Hopefully an expert will weigh in, I’m interested now in the process. 

    Ps. To any/many of you who own property at least fill out a transfer on death deed if you live in a state that allows the process to avoid probate. 100% revokable at any time. We filled one out for my mom in MN after learning about it to stay under the probate limits. (MN also offers it for cars if that would put you over the limit.)

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  • Jay HinrichsBusiness Member
    Real Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
    4y
    Originally posted by @Bill B.:

    You making $450k and them splitting $200k is you not wanting to take advantage of them? Guess they got lucky there. :-)

    Maybe a probate specialist will step in here but I ASSUME if the obvious heirs can’t afford probate the courts will still run the probate system somehow, sell the house and give them the remainder after all debtors re paid off?

    There has to be some process that kicks in if say these two sons couldn’t be found. The court would still run its course somehow and try to find the heirs. 

    If they are the two true only heirs you’d think a probate attorney would be willing to work the case and bill them at the end if there’s truly an obvious $650k pile of money sitting there. Heck, I doubt anyone go a kick them out until it’s foreclosed and maybe that’s all it would take. If it gets foreclosed on the bank has to distribute everything above the debt. 

    Hopefully an expert will weigh in, I’m interested now in the process. 

    Ps. To any/many of you who own property at least fill out a transfer on death deed if you live in a state that allows the process to avoid probate. 100% revokable at any time. We filled one out for my mom in MN after learning about it to stay under the probate limits. (MN also offers it for cars if that would put you over the limit.)

     YUP with that kind of equity they need to go see a lawyer and not some friendly investor out to help them out of their problems.

    a lawyer will do this on a contingency no problem and the sons will get market for the property..  Or sell at some discount if its in bad repair.

    the banks by federal law Must contact these folks and have an in person meeting before they foreclose.. So that might be the avenue that the sons get to that shows them they are not in trouble but have a big win fall coming.

    now we have helped a few times like this were the kids were addicts and could not do anything and we were able to petition the court to get standing and help these folks through it.. but we had to pay our attorney and then the resale has to be approved by the judge there is some delta to be had.. but it certainly not going to be as described above which any judge would look at as unconscionable profit. 

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