My mom passed away and she had a mortgage against the house. I've been paying it for 4 years. The insurance company withdrew the homeowners insurance upon my mom's death. The mortgage lender has allowed me to just continue the payments. The issue is I have to get a new homeowner insurance. I live in the property and would like to continue living here and just finish the payments. How do I prove insurable interest? Are the utility bills to show I live here or can I show that I'm the son so I would be the successor via interstate law through New Jersey?
How do I prove insurable interest without a deed?
byu/The0Walrus inInsurance
Posted by The0Walrus
3 Comments
This first sounds like a legal question. I know you mention the intestacy law but I believe you still need to get a lawyer involved to make it “official”. Have you done that?
You’re going to have a difficult time insuring a home that’s had a lapse in coverage and whose deed doesn’t reflect your name after 4 years.
This is a legal issue. You need to file the succession through the court, so the estate is passed on to the correct parties.
It’s a red flag for the house to still be in an unsettled estate years after the owner’s death. It often suggests something else is wrong that is preventing you from establishing ownership yourself. And it creates legal complications since you don’t actually own the property yet yourself.
The mortgage company doesn’t care that you won’t own the property once it’s paid off, as long as they’re getting their payments now. If anything goes wrong, they can still foreclose on it from your mother’s estate. Until then, they’re still getting their money even though you aren’t the owner or borrower.
Why haven’t you gone through the legal process to settle your mother’s estate? Is there anyone else who might try to claim ownership?
There are high-risk insurance companies that might be willing to insure the house in the name of your mother’s estate, depending on the situation and the condition of the property, but I doubt you’ll find one to insure it in your name when you don’t have title.