My Father passed with no will. The local building inspector has condemned the property. Am I responsible? How should I deal with this?

You do not have to do anything, although you may feel pressured by others to do things. AllenB, please pls realize that realistically you have no horse in this race…. You do not have to do anything. You do not have to deal with that crappy house, deal with his bills, deal with Medicaid Estate Recovery. The legal powers you had as a Guardian are gone and there is no existing will of your that named you to be their executor that you can easily open probate with. In my not an atty opinion, you can choose to step back and let whatever happens happen.

What you’ve described is a situation that is probably a total waste of time, energy and $. Only way it is worthwhile imo is IF - again IF - the land value of the property (not value including house but just land value*) is triple or more of whatever it would cost to 1. hire an atty to do an intestate probate court filing. Please realize with intestate there may be other heirs besides you that surface and all share in whatever $ left in the Estate once debts are paid. 2. Pay off in full the State MERP bill supposedly is; 3. Pay off all past due property taxes**. 4. Pay to get the house demolished or repaired to be sold as a house & land. Keep in mind if you this, realistically will not ever get paid for all the time you spend. Executor are limited to a % of the value of the Estate, most under 8%.

So…If you do nothing what will happen? Well if property taxes are not paid, house will become delinquent for County property tax roll for that year. & property placed on the County delinquent tax sale list. Then “sold” for that tax year to highest bidder. This pattern done every year. Eventually if taxes not paid for 3 -5 sequential years, property is redeemed and sold via a Tax Deed to either past years “winning” bidder or sold to someone else who wants the property and pays off all past years winning bidders. I’d suggest that you contact the county tax collectors office to see what property tax situation is. If your Dad was delinquent in paying for a couple of years, the house may well be close to becoming someone else’s ownership (& problem) via a Tax Deed.

fwiw Tax sales done in all States by the County or Parish (in Louisiana). Whether or not house is livable or derelict, whether or not it’s own by a person or several persons or an Estate, etc does not matter. Whether debts are associated with the property does not matter. County sells it as is and the new buyer owns it. All recorded at the courthouse and buyer owns it via Tax Deed.

If you step back from this hot mess, pls come up with 1-3 sentences you always use whenever anyone contacts you. Like “I am not able to deal with _______ (insert problem) at this time as I no longer have legal standing to act on my now deceased fathers behalf. I do appreciate your concern about _______. Unfortunately at the preset, there is simply nothing I can personally do to deal with ______ “. Rinse & repeat.

* tax bills divided into 2 parts: land value and improvements value (the house and any outbuildings).
** property taxes will change as old owner is dead. All over 65, homestead exemption, etc. go away. Taxes will increase. If a high prop tax state, like NJ or TX, new tax bill will be significantly higher.

fwiw I’ve been an Executor X 3 and taxes almost tripled, yeah that was fun. Imo taxes on a crappy empty house plus a hefty Estate recovery bill and an intestate situation are imo a disincentive for heirs to spend their own time & $ to ever get involved. So they do nothing. Essentially walk away.

Best of luck in your decision making journey.

I wojld assume court appointed that would or should mean medical and financial. If financial its your responsibility to dispose of what ever to satisfy his estate. Just because they condemn his house doesn't mean property that it sat on. Why was it condemn? Send letter asap medicaid will let you know. What ever they tell you they are assuming so when his estate is done then you can make arrangements to pay. Speak to a legal aide office they can help you thru this. And above all do not under any circumstances pay put of your own pocket its not your debt

I don't see how you are at all responsible for any of this. Medicaid, and anyone seeking monetary recovery will attempt any and every way they can to get what they want, including pressuring you for information, or they may even try and get you to pay his bills. Unless you were named in a valid will as the heir of his estate, you have nothing to do with any property he left behind.

Did you get an attorney?
If this were my situation, I would hire an attorney asap. (Habbas Law is highly recommended) although you could find one anywhere and perhaps a pro-bono if needed.

You do not want any surprises regarding taxes or other expenses.

Gena / Touch Matters

A guardianship automatically terminates upon the death of the person under guardianship. You are no longer the legal guardian after your parent's death. The estate of your parent is responsible for repaying the Medicaid costs incurred for their care. If there is no will or trust, the estate will go through probate, and Medicaid can file a claim against it for reimbursement. If your parent died without a will or trust and you were not on their bank account, the funds typically become part of their estate and will go through probate. The court will then distribute the money according.

It isn't your house, I wouldn't think you would have anything to worry about.

You really don't have anything to probate. My Mom left a house that I am sure would have been condemned. What would I have done, walked away and let the Township take it for back taxes. I did sell the house for the amt I owed in tax and medicaid liens. It was bought for the 7 acres it was on.

Before you go to probate, see that Elder lawyer.

How long ago did he pass? Did you or anyone start the probate process? Or file to be the Executor/Personal Representative of his estate? There is still a process even if there's no will ("Intestate").

t's true that your guardian legal responsibilities ends with his death. Were you joint on his checking account? If so, in some states, the remaining money becomes yours once the other account owner passes. I think a single consultation for guidance from an estate or elder law attorney will be very helpful to you. Or, you can save the money and research it online, making sure to note in what state your Dad was a resident.

I suggest seeing a good Elder Law attorney experienced with Medicaid who can advise you on both what to do with the condemned property and also how to proceed with Medicaid recovery. Since there is no will, state law will dictate who inherits everything. But Medicaid gets first crack. The question is, how will the Medicaid claw-back apply to a property that isn't sellable through the normal process. And if you have siblings, they would be part of the inheritance as well. If Medicaid disclaims any interest in the property, can you (and any siblings) disclaim it as well, and let it fall to the local government to deal with, or are you responsible for cleaning it up as a hazardous site? An attorney can help you sort through all that. Bring to your appointment all paperwork you have -- the bank account, the truck title, the information from the building inspector, the Medicaid paperwork, your guardianship order, etc., to save time and show the whole situation.

You may be able to sell the property to someone who wants the lot and would be willing to do the tear-down. I know a few people who have done this with dilapidated inherited properties.

Another option might be the local fire department! Sometimes they accept properties to be burned down to train their trainees. I know a person and also an organization that did this.