Expert: Dick Dennis - 1/2/2008

Question
Sir, I have been home from college since 2001. I came home to help my grandmother financially, and to help her raise my two teenage cousins. The house is the one I grew up in. She recently passed in Dec. There is about 33k left on the mortgage. I am not on the mortgage, and the monthly payments are pretty low. 410.06 to be exact. I am torn in between wanting to stay for sentimental purposes, and wanting to leave and establish my own home/apt for my own indentity. She was truly the reason i stayed, and both of my cousins are grown now, 18, and 19. She didnt have a will to my knowledge, and I was informed it may go to probate court. None of my grandmas kids really want anything to do with the house. Im just afraid that if i stay there, it will become the halfway house for my family. It will never really be mine. I havent lived on my own, really with my own rules since college. I still handle all of my grandmas financial business as well as far as unpaid bills....Any suggestions?

Answer
The way you should handle this, John, is for you to take the necessary steps to have to house given to you if indeed it has to go through probate. Unfortunately, probate is usually a longer-than-necessary process. But for you to gain control legally over that property, you should hire a REAL ESTATE attorney. Yes, it will cost hopefully not too much, but you should do it in any case. The fact that you are the one who has done the most for that house (at least up to recently) it would seem to me that the probate judge would indeed give you title, unless there are closer relatives (to your grandmother) up and about.

If you really don't want the house, then just walk away and forget about it. The house will be assigned to someone in your grandmother's family. I do wish you well.

Dick Dennis   dixiedee13@aol.com