What happens to the house and the car?

The short answer

Generally, not just because he died. Federal law generally stops a lender from calling the whole mortgage due because the home passed to you at his death, if you live there. Once the servicer confirms you as its “successor in interest”, you have the same servicing protections as a borrower.

A reverse mortgage follows different rules, and it is the one part of this chapter that should not wait. For everything else, what happens depends on how the deed was written, so find out.

This chapter explains how things usually work in the United States. It is not legal, tax or financial advice, and the rules where you live may differ. Before you act on anything here, check it with one of the people named at the end of the chapter.

What to do

1. Find the deed, or ask the county recorder for a copy.
2. Keep paying the mortgage if you can, and ask the servicer early if you can't.
3. Write to the servicer that he died, and ask to be confirmed as a successor in interest.
4. Call the servicer and a HUD-approved counselor this week, if there is a reverse mortgage.
5. Tell the home insurer, and keep the policy.
6. Ask the county assessor about property tax relief.
7. Keep the car insured.

What can wait

• Retitling the house, unless the county or a lawyer gives you a date.
• Refinancing the mortgage.
• Moving the car title into your name, or selling the car.

Who can help

If there is a reverse mortgage, call 1-800-569-4287 to find a HUD-approved housing counselor. Help to avoid losing your home is free. For anything else, ask about any fee first.

For the deed, the estate or a servicer that will not move, a probate or estate lawyer can help. The ABA directory finds your state and local bar's referral service at americanbar.org/directories/lawyer-referral-directory, and lsc.gov finds free civil legal aid for people on low incomes. A helper, or a librarian at your public library, can do this with you.

The county assessor answers questions about property tax relief. The servicer and your state's motor vehicle office answer for the loan and the car.

The rules, phone numbers and web addresses in this book were checked against the agencies’ own pages in October 2026. They change, so check anything you rely on with the office itself.

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