What is needed to notify the mortgage company that my father is deceased?

Full question:

Besides A Certified Death Certificate, what forms do I need to record to put the Mortgage 'on notice' that my father has died and his Trust will not be responsible for the mtg payments? The Payments have been made for the the past 2 yrs by the other party on the loan. She is not a successor Trustee to my fathers Trust. They each owned the Real Property 50% / His Trust, Her Trust. The Mtg is unaware of my Fathers passing. I want to have the mtg re-finance the originial loan with just the woman on the loan, - in other words, to have her buy out my 50% of the property. Again, what forms do I need to record with Clark County along with the Certified Death Certificate? I live in CA. The Property in Question is in Las Vegas NV. Clark County.

• Category: Wills and Estates
• Subcategory: Probate
• Date: 04/07/2025
• State: California

Answer:

The answer will depend on all the facts and circumstances involved, such as the names on the deed, the names on the mortgage, the value of the estate, and procedural requirements of the lender and county recording office involved. If the property is owned by a trust, it may avoid the probate process and be transferred according to the terms of the trust document. A trustee may execute a fiduciary deed to transfer property to a beneficiary. If the property is owned by joint tenants with rights of survivorship, the surviving tenant may have the deed changed to reflect only that person's name, according to local recorder's office procedures, which vary by office. Typically a copy of the death certificate is required. Lenders similarly have their own procedural requirements regarding the refinancing of a loan and proof of death. I suggest contacting a local attorney who can review all the facts and documents involved, as well as the lender and the recorder's office in the county where the property is located.

When a person dies, their assets are distributed in the probate process. If a person dies with a will, an executor is named to handle the distribution of the estate after a petition to probate the estate is filed with the court in the county where the deceased resided. In cases in Nevada where the decedent didn't own property valued at more than $100,000, the property may go through a small estate administration process, rather than the formal probate process. Nevada also has a summary estate process for estates under $200,000.

To dispose of the real property interests of the decedent, the executor or administrator executes an executor's deed or fiduciary deed. For example, if a person who is a co-owner dies. the administrator of the estate can execute a fiduciary deed transferring their interest to the remaining owners. Joint tenancy property passes outside of probate; however, it may be severed so that the property becomes part of one person's estate and passes to that person's heirs. Each joint tenant has an equal, undivided interest in the whole property, and automatically will inherit the share of a deceased joint tenant by right of survivorship, without the requirement of going through probate.

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The following are NV statutes:

NRS 146.070 Estates not exceeding $100,000: Petition; notice; fees;
distribution of interest of minor.

1. If a person dies leaving an estate the gross value of which, after
deducting any encumbrances, does not exceed $100,000, and there is a
surviving spouse or minor child or minor children of the decedent, the
estate must not be administered upon, but the whole estate, after directing
such payments as may be deemed just, must be, by an order for that purpose,
assigned and set apart for the support of the surviving spouse or minor
child or minor children, or for the support of the minor child or minor
children, if there is no surviving spouse. Even if there is a surviving
spouse, the court may, after directing such payments, set aside the whole
of the estate to the minor child or minor children, if it is in their best
interests.

2. If there is no surviving spouse or minor child of the decedent and the
gross value of a decedent's estate, after deducting any encumbrances, does
not exceed $100,000, upon good cause shown, the court shall order that the
estate not be administered upon, but the whole estate be assigned and set
apart in the following order:

(a) To the payment of funeral expenses, expenses of last illness, money
owed to the Department of Health and Human Services as a result of payment
of benefits for Medicaid and creditors, if there are any; and

(b) Any balance remaining to the claimant or claimants entitled thereto
pursuant to a valid will of the decedent, and if there is no valid will,
pursuant to intestate succession.

3. Proceedings taken under this section, whether or not the decedent left
a valid will, must not begin until at least 30 days after the death of the
decedent and must be originated by a petition containing:

(a) A specific description of all the decedent's property.

(b) A list of all the liens and mortgages of record at the date of the
decedent's death.

(c) An estimate of the value of the property.

(d) A statement of the debts of the decedent so far as known to the
petitioner.

(e) The names and residences of the heirs and devisees of the decedent
and the age of any who is a minor and the relationship of the heirs and
devisees to the decedent, so far as known to the petitioner.

4. The clerk shall set the petition for hearing and the petitioner shall
give notice of the petition and hearing in the manner provided in NRS
155.010 to the decedent's heirs and devisees and to the Director of the
Department of Health and Human Services. If a complete copy of the petition
is not enclosed with the notice, the notice must include a statement
setting forth to whom the estate is being set aside.

5. No court or clerk's fees may be charged for the filing of any petition
in, or order of court thereon, or for any certified copy of the petition or
order in an estate not exceeding $2,500 in value.

6. If the court finds that the gross value of the estate, less
encumbrances, does not exceed the sum of $100,000, the court may direct
that the estate be distributed to the father or mother of a minor heir or
devisee, with or without the filing of any bond, or to a custodian under
chapter 167 of NRS, or may require that a general guardian be appointed and
that the estate be distributed to the guardian, with or without bond, as in
the discretion of the court is deemed to be in the best interests of the
minor. The court may direct the manner in which the money may be used for
the benefit of the minor.

NRS 145.040 Conditions for ordering summary administration.

If it is made to appear to the court that the gross value of the estate,
after deducting any encumbrances, does not exceed $200,000, the court may,
if deemed advisable considering the nature, character and obligations of
the estate, enter an order for a summary administration of the estate.