Affidavit of Heirship and General Warranty Deed

[mico62]

Jurisdiction

Texas

We live in the UK and our father recently died (british but lived in Texas for 15 yrs). He owned a property with his 'wife' (last time I spoke to him he had a girlfriend and his friends didn't know he was married). Before she can sell we've been asked to sign a general warranty deed, otherwise the property 'will be repossessed' (her words). He/they are in debt, his credit cards had been declined (mentioned in his suicide note), they were behind on the mortgage and car loan payments, had no life assurance/mortgage protection, he'd cashed in his 401k and owed over $50k etc (statements made by the wife).

The forms have to be signed by an american so we'll have to go to the US embassy in London which will mean travel and possibly accommodation costs. My sister's a student and has no means to pay (he was supposed to pay maintenance until she graduated but owed over $8k at the time of his death) so she's struggling to finance the final year of her course and doesn't see why she should miss 2 days of lectures to help a woman who didn't have the decency to tell us he was dead (we found out on facebook. She also donated his body to medical science before we tracked her down so she's not someone we feel we can trust.

Our other worry is, if we do sign the deed, do we become responsible for his debts? If the house sells for the asking price there's approx $65k equity less realator/legal fees and there's a lien for the outstanding child support but who's going to pay full price for a property where the previous owner killed himself?

Would you sign or ignore?

 

[army judge]

Please accept my condolences for your loss.

In the US, when a person is deceased, their debts die, too.

No, you won't ever be responsible for his debts.
There are EVIL scammers that try to trick people who are grieving to pay the debts.
Simply hang up on them, tear up their vile letters, don't respond.

If you decide to sign the documents, that's up to you.

If you simply do nothing, your beloved's spouse has other options.
The process is lengthier, but that's not your worry.

If the woman is his legal spouse, she normally wouldn't need to request other potential heirs sign off.

If you do nothing, and she's just a friend, eventually the two of you might find you are the legal heirs.

If you don't care, do nothing.
Do nothing with complete confidence that you are not responsible for his child support he owed upon his untimely, tragic death.
That's not your debt, either.

I suggest you mourn your way, take your time, forget about the promise of some house in Texas, and live your lives.

Let the friend twist in the wind, and fix her mess the best way she can.

Not your monkeys, not your circus, not your problem.
Don't allow it to become your problem.

 

[adjusterjack]

if we do sign the deed, do we become responsible for his debts?

No. His estate is responsible for his debts, not his heirs.

However, if you were to inherit anything (unlikely) his debts would have to be paid by the estate before you got your share of what's left.

Would you sign or ignore?

I would ignore and not lift a finger to help her, especially considering the inconvenience and cost that you and your sister would incur.

On the other hand, if she would send a few thousand quid to cover time and expenses, I might reconsider.



Good money up front, though. Never rely on promises from somebody like that.