# Is this sufficient for a will? Need fast. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 14, 2017, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-sufficient-for-a-will-need-fast/777104 "2017-01-14T13:13:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2017, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-sufficient-for-a-will-need-fast/777104/21 "2017-01-17T20:39:49Z")
One thing to watch out for independent of probate/wills is that if you’re both mentioned on a mortgage or other loan, it comes due immediately. You don’t just go on making payments to the same old loan after one of the parties dies- it’s essentially breaking the contract or something like that. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2017, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-sufficient-for-a-will-need-fast/777104/22 "2017-01-17T21:06:55Z")
> [@bump](#): > > One thing to watch out for independent of probate/wills is that if you’re both mentioned on a mortgage or other loan, it comes due immediately. You don’t just go on making payments to the same old loan after one of the parties dies- it’s essentially breaking the contract or something like that. I am curious as to how the financial institution would find this out. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2017, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-sufficient-for-a-will-need-fast/777104/23 "2017-01-17T22:24:45Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > I am curious as to how the financial institution would find this out. Large financial institutions contract with companies that track deaths and give them updates. The institutions then check to see if any are their customers and “fun” stuff ensues. E.g., a joint checking account might suddenly be locked down until probate. (Depending on how it’s set up, etc.) It’s the law that they have to do this, so they pay people to track this. People aren’t messing around here. If your name accidentally appears on such a list, hoo-boy. ---
**Author:** ![slash2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@slash2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slash2k)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2017, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-sufficient-for-a-will-need-fast/777104/24 "2017-01-17T22:39:30Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > I am curious as to how the financial institution would find this out. Most financial institutions report such payments to one or more of the credit bureaus. If the credit bureau has somebody listed as deceased and is still getting reports of active payments, then a report might get sent back? (The credit bureaus all obtain death notifications from the Social Security Administration in the U.S., which is supposed to help cut down on identity theft.) A lot of institutions also run periodic credit checks on existing accounts, so-called “soft checks” to spot developing problems, and a customer credit check coming back as ‘deceased’ is going to raise an eyebrow. Some financial institutions subscribe to sources such as [Obituary Data](https://www.obituarydata.com/banking-and-finance.asp), and periodically verify that all of their customers are in fact still alive–again, it’s part of identity verification and their responsibility under the PATRIOT Act to know who they’re doing business with. Another problem would be with insurance–if a claim is ever made and it turns out the property isn’t really owned by the people named on the policy, the insurance company may decline to pay. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2017, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-sufficient-for-a-will-need-fast/777104/25 "2017-01-17T23:18:02Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > My Brother, Andy died during **December 2015**. > We will not finalize his Estate until February of **this year.** > > Get a Lawyer. > Make a Will. I can beat that—Grandpa died in May, 2012, and left a perfectly legal handwritten will, but it is not yet finalized. A lawyer would have prevented a couple of the problems that have arisen. One of the amusing possibilities that my family is too dumb (but not too crooked) to have thought of is that Grandpa left part of the estate to his twelve grandchildren, but did not name us. Since most of these are step-grandchildren who aren’t biologically related to him, it would have been trivial for someone else to have thrown in a claim, and it would have been a pain to establish who was meant. If anyone wants to claim to be the adopted child of my estranged but deceased uncle, it’s probably not too late. Here’s hoping your wife is okay and this is all academic. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2017, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-sufficient-for-a-will-need-fast/777104/26 "2017-01-17T23:59:36Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > If anyone wants to claim to be the adopted child of my estranged but deceased uncle, it’s probably not too late. Hey! how can I get a piece of that action? Sign me up! 😛 (I keed - as mentioned before, I’m sorry for your probate hell, **Dr Drake** , and hope it’s over soon.) ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-sufficient-for-a-will-need-fast/777104/27 "2017-01-18T00:13:39Z")
> [@bump](#): > > One thing to watch out for independent of probate/wills is that if you’re both mentioned on a mortgage or other loan, it comes due immediately. You don’t just go on making payments to the same old loan after one of the parties dies- it’s essentially breaking the contract or something like that. You’ve posted this before, and it’s simply not true. If a married couple has a joint mortgage, then the survivor becomes the sole mortgage holder when one dies. [Cite](http://info.legalzoom.com/responsible-mortgage-spouse-dies-will-4718.html). > [@](#): > > Many spouses take out mortgage loans in joint names. If this is the case and your spouse dies, you are still a borrower on the mortgage and you are responsible for continuing to make the payments. **However, federal law prohibits the lender from calling the entire mortgage due because one spouse has passed away.** If you also held title to the home jointly in a deed with rights of survivorship, your spouse’s half of the home passed to you automatically at her death. Although you are now responsible for the entire mortgage on your own, you also own the entire house. Another [cite](http://www.ehow.com/about_6362393_death-spouse-mortgage.html): > [@](#): > > In the case of a couple having a joint mortgage, the death of one spouse will simply mean the other spouse becomes the sole mortgage-holder. As long as she can continue making the payments, the property will be unaffected. If she is no longer able to pay the mortgage, she may need to sell the property and move to a less expensive home. Another possibility would be to remortgage the property for a full term, lowering the payments. Here’s the [law](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/12/1701j-3) specifically preventing banks from calling a joint mortage due upon death: > [@](#): > > With respect to a real property loan secured by a lien on residential real property containing less than five dwelling units, including a lien on the stock allocated to a dwelling unit in a cooperative housing corporation, or on a residential manufactured home, a lender may not exercise its option pursuant to a due-on-sale clause upon— > > (1) the creation of a lien or other encumbrance subordinate to the lender’s security instrument which does not relate to a transfer of rights of occupancy in the property; > (2) the creation of a purchase money security interest for household appliances; > (3) a transfer by devise, descent, or operation of law on the death of a joint tenant or tenant by the entirety; > (4) the granting of a leasehold interest of three years or less not containing an option to purchase; > (5) a transfer to a relative resulting from the death of a borrower; > (6) a transfer where the spouse or children of the borrower become an owner of the property; > (7) a transfer resulting from a decree of a dissolution of marriage, legal separation agreement, or from an incidental property settlement agreement, by which the spouse of the borrower becomes an owner of the property; > (8) a transfer into an inter vivos trust in which the borrower is and remains a beneficiary and which does not relate to a transfer of rights of occupancy in the property; or > (9) any other transfer or disposition described in regulations prescribed by the Federal Home Loan Bank Board. 5 & 6, and possibly 3, prevent banks from doing this. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-sufficient-for-a-will-need-fast/777104/28 "2017-01-18T00:36:22Z")
**dropzone** –is she OK? {WORRIED} ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-sufficient-for-a-will-need-fast/777104/29 "2017-01-18T21:37:18Z")
Ditto. I hope you are both okay. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-sufficient-for-a-will-need-fast/777104/30 "2017-01-18T22:07:50Z")
> [@bump](#): > > One thing to watch out for independent of probate/wills is that if you’re both mentioned on a mortgage or other loan, it comes due immediately. You don’t just go on making payments to the same old loan after one of the parties dies- it’s essentially breaking the contract or something like that. Depends on the state. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-sufficient-for-a-will-need-fast/777104/31 "2017-01-18T23:35:01Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Depends on the state. No it doesn’t. See my post above. US Federal law prevents banks from calling a joint mortgage between spouses due if one spouse dies. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-sufficient-for-a-will-need-fast/777104/32 "2017-01-19T01:12:23Z")
The OP posts on an average of over four posts a day. They’ve only posted twice, since four days ago, the opening of this thread, and it’s been almost a whole day since they’ve been here. Let us know, when you can, how things are going. We hope you haven’t needed to use the advice here. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-sufficient-for-a-will-need-fast/777104/33 "2017-01-19T02:09:37Z")
Aye, I hope things are okay. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-sufficient-for-a-will-need-fast/777104/34 "2017-01-19T02:54:22Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > No it doesn’t. See my post above. US Federal law prevents banks from calling a joint mortgage between spouses due if one spouse dies. I knew it was a state law, not a Federal one so thanks. But the point remains that bump was wrong about the loan being called. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2017, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-sufficient-for-a-will-need-fast/777104/35 "2017-01-26T21:49:40Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > My best advice… You’re still in Illinois? If you want to leave everything to each other, unless there are other heirs, you don’t need a lawyer at all. The surviving spouse inherits it all. > > There are plenty of reasons to have a will, and the more property involved in the estate, the more reasons there are. Mostly to do with tax avoidance and special bequests to people or institutions like charities that would not be in the normal chain of inheritance. > > But you’d still need a lawyer after her death to handle setting up the estate, publishing legal notices, etc. I don’t recall whether dropzone and his wife have children. If so, the children might be entitled to something in the absence of a will - though I know that varies state by state. But basically, if there’s a chance of anyone else who might be a logical heir and therefore challenge the hospital-signed “husband gets it all” will, it’s a risky way to go. Otherwise, I’m pretty sure that every state in the US has a default setting that if there is no will, it all goes to the spouse. I don’t know how good something like Legal Zoom would be for a simple will. It would still need to be witnessed as appropriate but it should have prompts for the kind of questions a basic will would need to cover. I’ve never used it for a will but did use it for a lease once and it asked for things I wouldn’t have thought of on my own. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2017, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-sufficient-for-a-will-need-fast/777104/36 "2017-01-26T22:05:55Z")
When my dad’s wife died, there was no fussing around, he just got everything. When he died intestate, I was the closest relative, so I was appointed executor. But it was just me and my brother, so, no big deal. ---
**Author:** ![RadicalPi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/radicalpi/32/9806_2.png) [@RadicalPi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RadicalPi)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2017, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-sufficient-for-a-will-need-fast/777104/37 "2017-01-26T22:52:38Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > Otherwise, I’m pretty sure that every state in the US has a default setting that if there is no will, it all goes to the spouse. That depends on if there’s children. For example, pulling up three states at random, in Illinois, if you die intestate with both a spouse and descendants, the spouse inherits half and the children split the other half. In Tennessee, all of them split equally, except that spouse’s share can’t go under a third. In Arizona, the spouse inherits everything provided that all your descendants are from you and that spouse, if not, it gets complicated. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2017, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-sufficient-for-a-will-need-fast/777104/38 "2017-02-02T08:35:07Z")
> [@RadicalPi](#): > > That depends on if there’s children. For example, pulling up three states at random, in Illinois, if you die intestate with both a spouse and descendants, the spouse inherits half and the children split the other half. In Tennessee, all of them split equally, except that spouse’s share can’t go under a third. In Arizona, the spouse inherits everything provided that all your descendants are from you and that spouse, if not, it gets complicated. Right - I mentioned that (children): [QUOTE=me] I don’t recall whether dropzone and his wife have children. If so, the children might be entitled to something in the absence of a will - though I know that varies state by state. … Otherwise, I’m pretty sure that every state in the US has a default setting that if there is no will, it all goes to the spouse. [/QUOTE] The “otherwise” meaning “if no children”. Best to get real wills drawn up one way or the other anyway. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2017, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-sufficient-for-a-will-need-fast/777104/39 "2017-05-26T17:14:07Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#): > > Sorry to hear about your wife … does your state allow survivorship … you may automatically inherit everything … She gave me power of attorney over everything, which looks like a will. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2017, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-sufficient-for-a-will-need-fast/777104/40 "2017-05-26T19:37:40Z")
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