Califon, NJ Estate Planning Law Firms & Lawyers

The answers to this question depend on the mortgage, and the terms of the will.  The will may stipulate that the heirs take the property subject to the mortgage.  If that's the case, the heirs can take over the mortgage payments, but technically, the heirs should have the mortgage redone in their name.  Changing the title to the property could cause an acceleration of the mortgage and require immediate payment.  A bigger question becomes, what happened to the proceeds of the second mortgage?  Did the decedent take that in a lump payment and it went to other heirs?   Can the first and second mortgages be combined and refinanced?  Rates are good now and it might be worth your while to qualify and re-do the whole thing.  

The Power of Attorney is no longer valid and really doesn't bear any weight.  I have had this issue before.  I am of the opinion that there is no "majority rule" when it comes to the Executors because all of them need to sign off on things.  For example, if you were selling property, and one executor did not agree and would not sign the deed, then I do not believe that clear title would be passed.  If there is a disagreement among the three, then proper thing to do is to go to court and either seek to have the one executor removed, or if they just refuse to sign, get a court order indicating that the two remaining executors are authorized to sign on behalf of all three. 

It is not possible to answer this based on the information given.  If you are trying to avoid estate taxes, the money will be drawn back into the estate, if the person dies within 3 years o the gift.  In order to avoid the taxes, the person must give up all indicia of ownership of the asset.  I prefer to let elderly people keep their assets to pay for their own care instead of worrying about taxes.  estate taxes will nt be inucrred unless the estate is over $675,000