Walking away from inheiritance?

[eeyorethegreat]

Just looking for some basic advice to set my wheels inthe right direction. My father lives in another state (Mass) and I live in Maine. I am the only child. He is 70, has had several significant medical problems and refused to take care of himself. I do not have a good relationship with my father (though he was not physically abusive he was extremely controlling and emotionally abusive) . We recently went to his house to clean out the barn as it is in such disreapair it is about to fall in. We cleaned it out, had a yardsale and the rest went in a dumpster (yardsale paid for the dumpster). The house he lives in is in ill repair. We wanted to empty the barn so that we can find someone to take it down so it doesn't destroy the house when it falls in. I don't want to get into details of my relationship with my father or what people presume my duty to him should be. I will say that he is not incompetent just stubborn (among other things), but his mind or ability to care for himself is not compromised. He just chooses not to take care of anything . I just want to get a general idea of how I should proceed when the time comes for the property he has to come to me. I'm not looking for advice on how to deal with my father now.

I do not want anything to do with his property. Given that I am an only child and my parents are divorced, I think that would leave me with the responsibility of having to deal with his property (ie house). He does not have a will but I imagine once the "estate" goes through probate I will be hearing from someone wanting me to take care of it. I want to walk away from it. I don't want it, I don't want to deal with selling a place that is way out of code. I want nothing to do with it. I have made this clear to my dad and he finds it quite amusing that when he dies I will be left with it to deal with. Can I walk away and let it revert to the state with out it hurting my family financially? I understand I need to see a lawyer for advice I would just like a bit of info so I know what kinds of questions I should ask and have a little background information before I do that. Thanks.

 

[Colleen27]

I don't have any answers for you, but I'm subbing because I'm curious to hear the responses you get from more knowledgeable folks. I'll be in a similar situation with my own father eventually - I have no relationship with him, to the point of trying unsuccessfully for 18 months now to reach him to let him know his father passed away, and I really don't want to end up having to fly cross-country (he lives in AZ, I'm in Michigan) to clean up his mess when he dies.

 

[GrnMtnMan]

Yes you can 'disclaim' an inheritance....you are not obligated to take ownership of anybody else's property against your will.

That being said, are you sure the land dosen't have any value? You can sell a property 'as-is' and disclose that the structure could be uninhabitable. Somebody still might want the land. And a lawyer or relator could take care of almost everything...just be up-front and wait for a check at the end of the process, and expect them to take a big cut for their effort.

Also, I've heard of fire departments that will do a controlled burn of a home as a training exercise. You get the structure demolished for free and they get a training exercise. It's worth researching.

It would be silly to disclaim property that could be sold for cash. Now if this was principled refusal (like you consider it blood money), that's another thing, but it seems you care enough about him to go help out with the home and remain involved in his life, so that scenario dosen't seem to be the case.

 

[U.P. North]

I agree with the above poster. Just sell it in an estate auction or have a realtor do everything. My DH used to be a volenteer firefighter and the fire dept used to do the controlled "Training Burns" all the time when houses would become available. They can't find those types of houses fast enough! Very much worth talking to the Fire Dept in the area!

The land itself could be worth more then you would think. I would not just let it go. You will be able to get something out of it.

 

[pat fan]

You can sell a property 'as-is' and disclose that the structure could be uninhabitable.

I don't think you can do that in Ma. Now you could have the house demolished and sell it as land, but a house? The septic has to be to code,which if it's an older house I am sure is not up to the ridiculous standards they now ask for and a new system is between $15-$30,000. Not a typo.

I would just refuse it if you really want nothing to do with it.

 

[branv]

I'm also not a lawyer, and I know inheritance law can vary by state, but a friend of mine was pretty much abandoned by her father. When he died, she was contacted regarding some of his possessions, but she simply washed her hands of it. I don't know the details, but if I'm remembering correctly, it was just a matter of her stating she was estranged from her father, wanted nothing to do with his property, and ignored any further contact. Again, I may be missing something, but I remember it was fairly straight forward.

I totally understand if you want to avoid any of this for your emotional health or your principles. But as a PP stated, you can just let someone handle every thing for a portion of the sell, and possibly take some profit from it. Though, ultimately, any medical bills or debts he may incur before he eventually passes may take anything the estate is worth. If not, and you really want nothing to do with it, another option is to donate the land and the contents of the house to an interested charity (either they can build on it or sell it for funds) -- it would be a way to turn something negative for you into something positive. Might be cathartic (and not bad for your tax return either).

Best of luck to you. I know what it means to have to keep distance from a parent for your own sanity and well-being. Hope things get easier.

 

[libinatorsmom]

YOu can just sell the property as is - or do an auction. As long as the property is paid off that is - if he has a large loan or morgage it may be different

 

[ssawka]

would it be possible to sign it over to charity? If it is a farm, I'm assuming is a good amount of land. If you gave it to charity, they could either sell it or maybe there's a charity that would want to use the land for some kind of retreat complex.

 

[NotUrsula]

If this is arable farmland it almost surely has value for that purpose. (You mentioned a barn so that makes me think it might be rural.)

I'd check with the FD about burning it down; if you can do that then you can probably also find someone else in the area willing to drag what's left for metal scrap. At that point you could lease it for farmland as long as there is no EPA abatement issue. Even if someone only cuts hay on it you could make about $1000/yr.

 

[happily single]

I'm also not a lawyer, but I play one occassionally

If I remember correctly unless someone (usually a surviving family member) opens a probate nothing at all will happen. Just because someone passes doen't mean there is a probate estate. My grandfather passes many years ago and we never "probated" his estate. We all knew beforehand what we were going to get and we just divided it up-but there was no property.

The house would just sit,incurring taxes and probably code violations. What about bank accounts, life insurance policies and burial plans however? I would think that he would need someone for all of that?

 

[bedogged]

I'm also not a lawyer, but I play one occassionally

If I remember correctly unless someone (usually a surviving family member) opens a probate nothing at all will happen. Just because someone passes doen't mean there is a probate estate. My grandfather passes many years ago and we never "probated" his estate. We all knew beforehand what we were going to get and we just divided it up-but there was no property.

The house would just sit,incurring taxes and probably code violations. What about bank accounts, life insurance policies and burial plans however? I would think tihat he would need someone for all of that?

We are dealing with a large estate at the moment. Most is in trust which does not, in our situation, require probate; however, we were told by our estate lawyer that if there was $50,000 or more outside the trust, we would have to probate those items. We are currently dealing with probate. In other words, if the estate is worth $50,000 or more and not in a trust, you must probate it. I would consult an experienced estate lawyer for more details. By the way, all the siblings were offered the opportunity to renounce the inheritance.

 

[Disneybuckeye]

We are sort of in a situation like you may be in. My MIL died two weeks ago and her will left everything evenly (a small house is everything as her life insurance money will just cover her final bills)to all 7 kids. The kids have since decided not to sell the house even thought it has foundation problems (worth about $50-$70k as is) and let the youngest sibling, who has a low paying job and no money and a small child, live there so she is not on the streets. They want to put the house in a trust so they get the money when the sibling finally moves out and then can sell it.

I called my Uncle who is an attorney as I wanted no part of this. If she does not keep the house up, does not pay the bills or taxes, or any other things I did not want someone coming to us for money. He told me we could definitely refuse our portion of the inheritance and he recommended that we did as the downside far out weighed any potential upside. Besides, I don't ever see her having enough money to ever move out.

Good Luck!

 

[akcire]

Just looking for some basic advice to set my wheels inthe right direction. My father lives in another state (Mass) and I live in Maine. I am the only child. He is 70, has had several significant medical problems and refused to take care of himself. I do not have a good relationship with my father (though he was not physically abusive he was extremely controlling and emotionally abusive) . We recently went to his house to clean out the barn as it is in such disreapair it is about to fall in. We cleaned it out, had a yardsale and the rest went in a dumpster (yardsale paid for the dumpster). The house he lives in is in ill repair. We wanted to empty the barn so that we can find someone to take it down so it doesn't destroy the house when it falls in. I don't want to get into details of my relationship with my father or what people presume my duty to him should be. I will say that he is not incompetent just stubborn (among other things), but his mind or ability to care for himself is not compromised. He just chooses not to take care of anything . I just want to get a general idea of how I should proceed when the time comes for the property he has to come to me. I'm not looking for advice on how to deal with my father now.

I do not want anything to do with his property. Given that I am an only child and my parents are divorced, I think that would leave me with the responsibility of having to deal with his property (ie house). He does not have a will but I imagine once the "estate" goes through probate I will be hearing from someone wanting me to take care of it. I want to walk away from it. I don't want it, I don't want to deal with selling a place that is way out of code. I want nothing to do with it. I have made this clear to my dad and he finds it quite amusing that when he dies I will be left with it to deal with. Can I walk away and let it revert to the state with out it hurting my family financially? I understand I need to see a lawyer for advice I would just like a bit of info so I know what kinds of questions I should ask and have a little background information before I do that. Thanks.

If your father dies without a will. The estate will be probated. At that time you can choose to pass on your interest which will leave his assets to his next heir. If you have children, they are the next heirs. Unless they are of age you will not be able to pass on their interests.

A more likely situation is that your fathers house will need to be sold to cover his care in his final months/years. Few people die in their homes alone. Not saying it can't happen.

***Also most states will not allow you to walk away from a piece of property that has hazards, but keep the cash in a bank account.

My father has a house full of stuff. He doesn't even live in it. It has value, but is a dump. I know it amuses him that I will have to clean it out one day. I plan to hire it done.

 

[eeyorethegreat]

If your father dies without a will. The estate will be probated. At that time you can choose to pass on your interest which will leave his assets to his next heir. If you have children, they are the next heirs. Unless they are of age you will not be able to pass on their interests.

A more likely situation is that your fathers house will need to be sold to cover his care in his final months/years. Few people die in their homes alone. Not saying it can't happen.

***Also most states will not allow you to walk away from a piece of property that has hazards, but keep the cash in a bank account.

My father has a house full of stuff. He doesn't even live in it. It has value, but is a dump. I know it amuses him that I will have to clean it out one day. I plan to hire it done.

This truly scares me! In other words I am screwed. Me-Only child ...passes on to my kids. I just wouldn't be able to get away from it then. Makes me ill. At this point I am not sure why the town has not condemned the place. Which still leaves me with the responsibility. The man has not taken responsibility for a single thing in his life. I really have no idea of what we are going to do if this is the case. It would cost us too much to get the house to code. More than we can afford and I don't want to take out thousands and thousands of dollars in loans to do that.
To other PP:
The controlled burn is an option maybe depending on if the FD would burn it as there are neighbors on either side and accross the street.

No not a farm. It was at one point. Long ago. The barn is attached to the house. The property was divided up years before my parents ever bought the house to build other houses. Basically the property is worth the land it sits on nothing more- it is a complete eyesore. I have to say I was quite embarrassed as we had the yard sale. The few people who don't know the place in town commented on the disrepair. Those who were aware of the place came to the yard sale out of curiousity more than anything.

Yes there is a possibility that the property would be claimed as payment for healthcare costs. If he goes into a nursing home and remains in Mass the state will from what I understand require me to sell the property to pay the healthcare costs. Whichs puts me in the same place of it being well out of code and for the most part irrepairable. State can have the house, I just can't incur debt because of it to get it to the point of being able to sell it. If t he state would just put a lein on it an claim it I would be glad of it and wash my hands of it. He does not have a mortgage.

 

[happygirl]

This truly scares me! In other words I am screwed. Me-Only child ...passes on to my kids. I just wouldn't be able to get away from it then. Makes me ill. At this point I am not sure why the town has not condemned the place. Which still leaves me with the responsibility. The man has not taken responsibility for a single thing in his life. I really have no idea of what we are going to do if this is the case. It would cost us too much to get the house to code. More than we can afford and I don't want to take out thousands and thousands of dollars in loans to do that.
To other PP:
The controlled burn is an option maybe depending on if the FD would burn it as there are neighbors on either side and accross the street.

No not a farm. It was at one point. Long ago. The barn is attached to the house. The property was divided up years before my parents ever bought the house to build other houses. Basically the property is worth the land it sits on nothing more- it is a complete eyesore. I have to say I was quite embarrassed as we had the yard sale. The few people who don't know the place in town commented on the disrepair. Those who were aware of the place came to the yard sale out of curiousity more than anything.

Yes there is a possibility that the property would be claimed as payment for healthcare costs. If he goes into a nursing home and remains in Mass the state will from what I understand require me to sell the property to pay the healthcare costs. Whichs puts me in the same place of it being well out of code and for the most part irrepairable. State can have the house, I just can't incur debt because of it to get it to the point of being able to sell it. If t he state would just put a lein on it an claim it I would be glad of it and wash my hands of it. He does not have a mortgage.

Sell it. Why walk away from money?

 

[eeyorethegreat]

Sell it. Why walk away from money?

Because the cost that would take to bring the house to code would at best allow me to break even. It is more likely I would be left with debt when it was said and done. The place is that bad. We could have the house demolished then sell the less than acre of land...again, hoping for the best to break even. This isn't money I am trying to walk AWAY from I am trying to walk away from LOSING money. Incidently, currently, this area in which the house is in has not seen home sales meet the value of the houses in several years. In other words if a house sells it sells well below the value. This house is just one phone call short of being condemned. So the value is in the land which is under and acre. This is why I wanted to know how to walk from it so I don't incur debt trying to sell it.

Just trying to get info so that when the event arises I won't be caught totally off gaurd.

 

[peekinglemer]

Not sure how things work in your state but in NY when someone dies without a will it is called an Administration. Next of kin (you) has the first right to apply to become the administrator and deal with the estate. If the next of kin does not want to deal with the estate then someone else with an interest in the estate (i.e. creditors, etc) has the right to administor the estate. If a creditor decides to open an estate they must get a renunciation from the next of kin. (A document that you sign saying they can go ahead and be in charge of the estate).

Once the assests of the estate are collected and the debts of the estate are paid off then the next of kin is entitled to any proceeds. That is the case regardless of if the next of kin OR a creditor is the administrator. If the debts far outweight the assets then the creditors get a pro-rated share and write off the rest. Next of kin IS NOT responsible for ANY of the decedent's debts.

If there is money left over in the estate and the next of kin does not want it they can renounce their INTEREST in the estate. Then the proceeds from the estate go to their kids. However, the next of kins children are NEVER held liable for the estate.

If no one does anything with the estate chances are the city will file to become the administrator so they can foreclose on the property. Again, the next of kin is notified in case they want the chance to do something with the property first but the next of kin is usually not liable. The only time (typically) the next of kin would be liable would be if they signed for the funeral bill to pay the funeral home or if the decedent had joint debts with the next of kin.

In other words. You don't have to do anything you don't want to do. At least in NYS. I would suggest, when the time comes, to contact a lawyer and find out what the options are in your state and go from there. But you shouldn't have to worry about spending your hard earned money for someone elses debts.

Hope this helps.

 

[starry_solo]

Check with the County's Code Enforcement department to see if they have any grants available to pay for the demolition of a substandard structure (if the fire department idea doesn't work).

 

[Colleen27]

I think there are two things you need to consider - first, check into the rules on selling the property as-is. Someone else might see an opportunity that you don't, especially if they have the resources to put into it.

And second, check into how tax foreclosure works in his state. I only say that because my mother is looking for a home in our community and has two on her short list that will be coming to tax auction in the fall, both of which came from estates that failed to pay the property taxes while the home was listed for sale. Because the house never transferred to a next of kin, it is the estate that is liable for the taxes and the house is simply sold off by the county for non-payment.

 

[Kies99]

Quick Google found this.

http://boston-estate-planning.com/will/what-happens-if-i-do-not-want-to-inherit-something/