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if you are the child of a parent who
obtained the reverse mortgage before
they passed away there is specific
information you need to know and
specific things you need to consider I
am attorney Vernita Williams several
times per month I face the opportunity
of discussing what happens with a
property when a person with a reverse
mortgage passes away usually these are
the children of the person who obtained
the reverse mortgage there are specific
things that I noticed a lot of people
are not aware of first of all although
the parent did not pay mortgage payments
on the reverse mortgage now that they
have passed away yes number one that
reverse mortgage will have to be paid
number two the reverse mortgage yes is
there but that does not keep the
property from going into foreclosure a
lot of people think if there's a reverse
mortgage or if probate is necessary that
prevents a foreclosure that is not true
the third thing you need to be aware of
is that in most instances within six to
twelve months after the passing of the
person who obtained the reverse mortgage
a mortgage company will commence
foreclosure so you will have to do
something so there are a couple of
decisions you will need to make number
one you need to notify the mortgage
company of the passing of the home owner
now a lot of times people think well if
I don't tell the mortgage company
anything I'll just stay here
mortgage free and rent free and as long
as they don't know the person passed
away then I will just enjoy the benefits
of there being a reverse mortgage well
it doesn't work that
way most reverse mortgage companies
track their properties they have a way
of checking to see if the original owner
is still alive and they have a way of
finding out if they are not so if you
are in a situation like this it is best
to go in and tell the mortgage company
the original owner passed away many
times they will work with you they will
give you time to figure out if you want
to buy the property if you want to sell
the property so number one notify the
mortgage company number two decide what
you want to do do you want to keep the
property by buying it or do you want to
sell the property number three there may
be some instances in which a spouse who
is not entitled to the property may be
able to qualify for a reverse mortgage
and keep the property I've handled
several cases where a wife was not owned
title but age-wise she was able to
qualify herself for a reverse mortgage
so once her name was placed on title
then that reverse mortgage continued
they didn't have to sell the property
the fourth thing is as a family member
you may be able to buy that property for
ninety five percent of the market value
now it doesn't matter how much the
reverse mortgage payment is for instance
if your parents got a reverse mortgage
for two hundred thousand dollars and
that is what's due upon their death but
the property is only worth a hundred and
fifty thousand in today's market well
you don't have to pay that inflated
amount of the mortgage just because that
is the amount that your parents obtained
when they got the reverse mortgage so
you can buy the property oftentimes for
ninety five percent of the market value
the fifth thing is if you sell it you
may be in a situation where the property
is worth more than what is owed so you
may be able to sell the property and
then you can take the money
that's made from the property and
divided among the legitimate heirs of
the original owner who passed away so if
there is a reverse mortgage there are
many things that you need to think about
but just know that you do have to deal
with the issue of there being a mortgage
which has to be paid you may be able to
sell the property you may be able to
keep the property if you are a spouse
whose name was never on title and you
are the age where you can qualify so
these are interesting and simple things
that I'd like to share on a regular
basis with you if you need additional
information please go to my website VCW
law comm that is v CW l8w dot-com where
you can receive specific free downloads
one of them is a checklist of 25 things
you need to do to set your affairs in
order and another one is our 25 estate
planning tips to help you avoid legal
nuisances and nightmares also if you
have comments questions or suggestions
feel free to call me at seven eight six
eight three one nine four eight three
that is seven eight six eight three one
nine four eight three thank you for
listening