My mother, widowed and never remarried, died last month without leaving a will. What do I do now?

[Garth2023]

Jurisdiction

New York

Hi,
My mother (I am her only living child), died last month without leaving a will. She has about $15K in a checking account. She also has a house. She has a life estate deed which deeds the house to her grandson. There is also a reverse mortgage on the property. Her grandson is planning on getting a mortgage loan to pay off the balance owed on the reverse mortgage. We requested a payoff quote from the reverse mortgage company, but they denied the request. We were told that after the borrower dies, only an attorney-in-fact, an authorized third party, an executor, a conservator, a successor or a trustee can request and receive any loan documents. What do we need to do now?
Thanks

 

[adjusterjack]

My condolences for your loss.

You are probably the logical person to become representative of the estate. Here's a list of resources and their links. The Surrogate Court handles probate matters.

First up: The Surrogate Court Rules.

PART 207. Uniform Rules For The Surrogate's Court | NYCOURTS.GOV

Next: The Surrogate Court Statutes. Probably a lot of duplation there:

New York Surrogate's Court Procedure Act - SCP | FindLaw

Her estate may qualify for the Small Estate Affidavit Program. Not sure with the house though but study up anyway.

Small Estate Affidavit - DIY Forms | NY CourtHelp (nycourts.gov)

Small Estate Forms | NYCOURTS.GOV

Regular probate forms if it comes to that:

Probate Forms | NYCOURTS.GOV

Either way, the first thing you do is take the death certificate to the Surrogate Court in her county and apply to be personal representative of her estate.

Once you are issued your authorization papers, you'll be able to get the information from the lender that you need for the grandson.

You'll also need the authorization papers for the bank if you were not listed as beneficiary on the account.

You should be able to do it without an attorney. When my mother died in NY, my brother and I were able to get it done.

Might be a good idea to go to the court and ask for the forms packet. I recall that some required forms were not listed on the website.