Community Chat

[gabstoomuch]

I disagree with whoever  ^^^^ up there said you inherit both assets AND debt. That is not true.

ALL debt die with the deseased. No one is repsonsible for the debt (out of their own pocket).

If there is any asset, debts can be paid from the sale of that.

First thing I would do is find out the name of the utility companies for that community, and call them to disconnect all utilities, as the owner is deceased. They may ask for a copy of death certificate, which you can probably provide.

That will get the squatter out real fast. Make sure the utility company knows there is no one living there, and no one has permission to turn them back on.

Given his lifestyle, I doubt there is a will. As I see it, you will only have to pay back HOA and property taxes. Given you are working with what $$ you can expect to sell the condo for, you have the money to pay that.

A lawyer will probate all this, and even get it sold (for a fee), and unless there is anything of your brothers that you want for rememberance purposes, the real estate company will just back up a truck and trash it all.

You will still come out with a pretty good profit, and not have to go there. Any signatures needed can be done by fax.

I wouldn't walk away. I think your Mom needs closure, even if they were estranged. She needs to feel she at least closed out his life in a dignified fashion. He was her little boy at one time. How he lived his life, and how it ended must be painful for her (as a Mom).

I keep hearing Suze Orman, this is the exact sort of case she sells those "do it yourself" CD's for. An estate does not have to be worth millions, even small ones like this could have been closed out quickly had he had his affairs in order.

There are many, many people who believe they don't need all those "end of life" papers. That is so untrue.

I am sorry for the loss of your brother. No matter the circumstances, he was still your brother. And it is still a loss.

Once you get some legal advice I think you will feel less stressed. Get that roommate out of there. I bet he was just couch hanging, and even if he has a lease, the lease died with your brother, so he is outta luck.

Keep us posted, I am curious how a situation as this works. I have a relative that refuses to do a will and end of life care paperwork. How you get this done might help others out here in the big world who might be in a similar situation.

Stay strong, and breathe

[Mysterri]

You may need to get a probate attorney.  In California, they are legally limited to about 4% of the size of the estate but court costs can add at least $1500 to that.  I don't know where you live, but the initial consultation is generally free.  You can try and do it yourself but it really isn't worth it unless you have the time (ours was not a small estate but not a big one either).  I got about half way through and realized it was just a little more than I could handle.  However, I can recommend the book How to Probate an Estate in California by Nolo Press if you need good information.  It's a small estate so you may not need to go through everything I did.  I'm more than willing to send you my copy of the book, I don't need it anymore but it's a few years old.  Good luck.

[Sooner]

What a mess.  How much time and energy do you have to devote to this?  I would be surprised if there is anything to be gained if drugs were a serious problem.   And in my experience, attorneys are NOT free and it is important to find a reputable one.   They aren't all the same by any means.

[Mysterri]

I have a few suggestions for you.  First, go to Yelp and look up probate attorneys. If you don't have a POA for your mother, it would probably be helpful if you had that so you can legally act on her behalf.  I would also check the address on Google street view and see what the neighborhood is like.  I grew up near Riverside and while I haven't lived near there for a long time, I know parts are pretty sketchy.  Crimemapping dot com will give you all the information you want to know about crime around the condo.  I would also call either Riverside PD or the County sheriff (if it isn't in Riverside city) and ask for their advice regarding getting into the condo.  The HOA could and should be a little more helpful considering drug use is going on.  You would think they would want the roommate out.  It may take a call to the HOA management company, they are two different things.  They may not want to talk to anyone until an estate administrator is named.

My condolences about your brother.  Settling someone's life is never easy.

[KathyPet]

Someone usually the next of kin has to be appointed by the court to serve as the "personal representative (aka the administrator) of the estate.   A lawyer will have to be engaged for this process.  Once the personal representative has the necessary documents they can begin to collect assets and pay expenses.  I disagree with turning off the utilities.  If the condo is going to be sold it cannot be shown by a realtor with the utilities turned off.  IF you have not already done this I would use the realtor.com website and enter the zip code of the condo which will let you see what is for sale and the prices in that zip code.  

[Group 5 minus 1]

Many,many times someone on the forum is looking for free legal advice. Hire an attorney. 

[Beautiful life]

I had all his utilities shut off. The cable and phone were already shut off due to not payment. I called the realtor that sold my brother the condo and he's going to do a title search and will go the condo and try to find out if anyone is living there. 

I will have to get paperwork to sign so I can handle the estate for my mom if we find out she can take over the property. My mom is 83 and housebound.

hopefully, I'll find out more this week. 

Thanks everyone! I'll update more when I find out.

[sunshine45]

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@Beautiful life wrote:

I had all his utilities shut off. The cable and phone were already shut off due to not payment. I called the realtor that sold my brother the condo and he's going to do a title search and will go the condo and try to find out if anyone is living there. 

I will have to get paperwork to sign so I can handle the estate for my mom if we find out she can take over the property. My mom is 83 and housebound.

hopefully, I'll find out more this week. 

Thanks everyone! I'll update more when I find out.

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@Beautiful life

it is STILL important that you find a lawyer. maybe the realtor can recommend one to you? this should be done immediately. you have already waited far too long to begin the process.

[occasionalrain]

You either do what needs to be done yourself or pay others to do it for you. You can't dump this in the lap of another without expecting to pay them.

[MacDUFF]

I'm sorry for your troubles.  I would try to talk to someone from the HOA, too.  I know you said something about a HOA change, but you should still be able to call someone who would be a source of on-site info.  I think ultimately you'll need professional assistance to finalize it all.  Best wishes!