Settling Probate

Q: DEAR BOB: My mother died in 1988 and dad passed away this year. The house was, and still is, in my late mother's name. All dad did after mom's passing was continue to pay the property taxes on the house. A couple of children belong to dad only from a prior marriage. What needs to be done legally to clear the title to the house?

-- Mr. A.M.

A: DEAR MR. A.M.: What a mess! If your mother's estate was never probated or distributed to her heirs, her will needs to be probated in the local probate court where she was a resident at the time of her death. That will determine if your late father received title to the house or if her will left it to somebody else.

If mom didn't leave a written will distributing her assets, then her estate will pass according to the state law of intestate succession where she was a resident.

Presuming your late father received the house from your late mother, then another probate needs to be opened to distribute his assets according to his will or by the state law of intestate succession. For details, please consult a probate lawyer in the county where your mom was a resident.

DEAR BOB: I own a piece of commercial property that has a small mortgage. Can I sell this property without the buyer coming up with a big down payment to pay off the existing mortgage?

-- Jerre V.

DEAR JERRE: Yes. You can sell any property "subject to" its existing mortgage. Of course, the buyer must make the monthly payments or lose the property to foreclosure.

But the lender might enforce the mortgage's due-on-sale clause, if there is one. However, only very dumb lenders enforce due-on-sale clauses if the monthly payments are made on time. If that should happen, your buyer can refinance the mortgage with another lender to pay off the existing mortgage.

You should be aware that because the mortgage was acquired in your name, you will remain liable for it. If your buyer fails to keep up the monthly payments, that will reflect adversely on your credit report but not on the buyer's credit report.

DEAR BOB: My neighbors have anywhere from seven to 13 cars parked in front of their house. They run a gardening business with day laborers, a day-care business and a rooming house from the home. The neighborhood has single-family houses of four to six bedrooms in the $750,000 range. The constant traffic and noise, as well as strangers on our block, drives us crazy. Can anything be done to return peace and tranquility to the neighborhood? -- Edwin T.

DEAR EDWIN: Presumably you already had a polite conversation with the neighbor but it didn't produce satisfactory results. Next, I suggest you contact the city code enforcement officer to have the situation investigated to determine whether zoning and other laws are being violated.