S.O is deceased and our home was in his name. Seeking advice.

S.O is deceased and our home was in his name. Seeking advice.

Member since 2020 · 1 post · 0 votes

Scenario:

I shared our primary residence in Florida with my S.O. We split everything 50/50. He unexpectedly passed in Dec 2020 and the only names on the mortgage and deed are his. By Florida law everything passes to his children. They are young 22 and 24, no desire to take interest in the home. We purchased FHA in 2019. Current value approximately $345K, Currently owed $302K. I would like to be able to get back at least part of what I have invested.

Do I need to actually assume the loan or if the family signs to allow for a court order showing ownership interest, can I do a quit claim deed to my name and then sell the property?  I have a prospective buyer with mortgage preapproval in hand. 

To further muddy the waters, I have a current RE license, but am inactive.  I am leaving Florida so I do not want to pay REALTOR fees to activate my license with my broker since I am leaving the state in 2 months. 

Any thoughts, ideas, prayers or advice is helpful.  

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  • JD MartinBusiness Member
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    Rock Star Extraordinaire · Northeast, TN · Member since 2015 · 10k+ posts · 17k+ votes
    5y

    Sorry to hear that. You need the advice of an attorney. Without your name on something you are going to have a tough road - not impossible but you have to balance how much equity you think you have in this property with the legal costs you are going to absorb. Based on what you show I don't think you have anything/enough to bother with. $345k with a $302 mortgage is going to net you about $20k before you split the proceeds, if you could even prove 50% of the equity is yours. That's $10k, and I would bet you would spend at least $5-10k on lawyers getting to that point.

    The only way around all of that I can see is if his kids signed away their interest in the inheritance, but I think it would at a minimum have to go through a probate process in order to determine what is what.

    My non-attorney advice would be to give the kids the keys and ride into the sunset if you are leaving Florida. 

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  • Real Estate Agent · Sacramento/Placer ~ San Francisco Bay Area counties · Member since 2012 · 1k+ posts · 743 votes
    5y

    @Long D. can probably assist. His probate practice covers all of Florida.. @Long D.

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