First 30 days: become real to the servicer
Until you're a confirmed successor in interest, the servicer legally can't discuss the loan with you — and letters to the deceased pile toward default meanwhile. Send the death certificate plus inheritance proof (will, probate letters, or deed) certified mail, and request confirmation as successor in interest under Regulation X. That phrase unlocks the file.
The due-on-sale myth
Relatives inheriting a home are federally protected from due-on-sale acceleration (Garn-St Germain Act) — the lender cannot demand payoff just because title moved by inheritance. You can keep paying the existing loan on its existing terms without formally qualifying. If arrears exist, successors can apply for modifications in their own right.
The three-way decision
Keep: budget the full carrying cost (payment, taxes, insurance, upkeep) against your real finances, not sentiment alone. Sell: as heir/executor you can sell before any foreclosure and preserve the estate's equity — often the kindest financial outcome for scattered heirs. Walk: if the home is underwater and the estate is thin, heirs are not personally liable for the mortgage; letting an upside-down property go, or negotiating a deed in lieu for the estate, is legitimate.
When foreclosure is already running
Estates in probate with mounting arrears are a specialist scenario we see weekly: the process pauses for no grief. A confirmed successor can reinstate, modify, sell, or negotiate exactly as the original borrower could — but every option needs the successor paperwork done first. Start there, today.
General information, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Homeowner Foreclosure Prevention is not a law firm, lender, or government agency. Free HUD-approved counseling: hud.gov/counseling · 800-569-4287.