Executor non legally required

Started by KurtD1 • 5 replies • 1393 views

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KurtD1 (New Jersey)
Posts: 1

Posted:

Hi all. New Jersey.

We have a unit that the owner recently passed away and the son has become the executor of her estate.

There is a long convoluted situation going along with that, but ultimately, the son wants nothing to do with it and the HOA dues have piled up well into the 5 digits.

My question is this: It was mentioned that the executor of her estate (son) has no legal obligation to pay the back dues or moving forward. Is that true?

Any thoughts or opinions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

GlenL (Ohio)
Posts: 5,491

Posted:

File a lien, File a lien, File a lien, TODAY!!! The unit will eventually be sold and if you have a lien in place you should get your money, depending on the state of the estate.

Studies show that 5 out of 4 people have problems with fractions

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059

Posted:

I agree with Glen

SheliaH (Indiana)
Posts: 6,964

Posted:

If there's an estate and it's moving through probate, your association attorney should be able to file a claim against the estate. Have him or her look into that as well as file a lien.

You may also want to take a look at the legal notices section of your newspaper from time to time - I believe when an estate goes through probate, the court publishes an announcement in the paper so that creditors can come forward and file a claim, but if you don't do it by the stated deadline, you may lose your rights to get anything. The executor should be contacting the creditors, but it doesn't always happen.

Our association recently learned this the hard way - we had a resident who'd we'd been chasing for delinquent dues for several years. At one point, she declared bankrutptcy (which stopped everything, including the foreclosure the mortgage company had initiated.). Somewhere during this long convuluted process, the woman died. She left an estate, but no one contacted our attorney (who later found out about it and the woman's death through a skip trace). Unfortunately, by the time we found out, the estate was closed and it was too late to file a claim

If it is not right do not do it; if it is not true do not say it. Marcus Aurelius

MelissaP1 (Alabama)
Posts: 13,836

Posted:

I agree with Glen and Tim. We had this situation after a death. It went through probate and the son wanted nothing to do with the HOA or the house. So we needed to file a lien so it would be part of the probate proceedings. So file a lien!!!

Former HOA President

JohnB26 (South Carolina)
Posts: 1,569

Posted:

i realize this may be considered 'nit picking', but:

the lien already exists (as per the CCRs)~ they are filed

it needs to be actually RECORDED against the deed

this is how the attorneys make their living

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