My Wife Is An Heiress

[seeker_two]

Set fire to her 20%....preferably in the room with all the aftershave.

 

[1911'S 4 Me]

That is a hazmat cleanup.

 

[oldag]

It is a mental issue and I have had to clean up after such, I am sad to say. Can't remember how many of the large industrial dumpsters (not the small ones used by most restaurants, etc. but rather the 30 or so foot long rolloffs) I filled.

Not sure if the 20% will be worth it.

 

[majormadmax]

See, you're using First World standards to judge.

Humans in their right mind live in much worse conditions willfully. Most people wouldn't, myself included, but it's not for us to understand.

But yes, cleaning it out and making repairs would be part of the process.

It's Texas. It is the First World.

 

[Vaquero]

I don't have to leave the block I live on to point out a couple of these situations.
It can happen anywhere. I won't judge.
We all have to live with ourselves.
Some of us cope with it.
Some just put up a facade and hide a lot of "stuff".

 

[deemus]

Whether anyone approves or not, that’s a ton of work. I’ve seen houses with a ton of stuff. But the filth is concerning. How do you use that tub?

ETA , sorry for your loss. My FIL was a nut, but I loved him. Some very similar issues.

 

[Polkwright]

If you can sell it to the neighbor for enough to pay off his debt, that's a win.

The problem in these situations is there often isn't enough money in the estate to straighten out the mess. In reality, there is no estate. In such situations it may be best to resign as executor and walk away from the hassle. Let the government authorities deal with it. The court will appoint an executor, auction off the house, and decide who gets what. It will take forever. But there's no point going through all the hassle yourself for nothing.

 

[MountainGirl]

If you can sell it to the neighbor for enough to pay off his debt, that's a win.

The problem in these situations is there often isn't enough money in the estate to straighten out the mess. In reality, there is no estate. In such situations it may be best to resign as executor and walk away from the hassle. Let the government authorities deal with it. The court will appoint an executor, auction off the house, and decide who gets what. It will take forever. But there's no point going through all the hassle yourself for nothing.

That ^^ may seem like a cop out on responsibility, but unless she asked to be appointed it's just him dumping a mess on her.

I'm done dealing with others' messes and have made sure to not leave one of my own behind. To burden someone else, in any manner, horrifies me.

 

[billtool]

Yep- I’m handing it over to the neighbor taking what I can get.

 

[Southpaw]

Why so many watering jugs?

But they were on clearance!!!!!! Like a moth to a flame for some.

He had quite an extensive stash of cranberry sauce

And that's the Ocean Spray stuff.. He was high post.

How much you want for the Lectric Shave?

No low ballers!!! He knew what he had.

How do you use that tub?

I'm sure someone can put it to good use...

 

[oldag]

Hoarding is a form of severe OCD. Even people with extremely high IQ's can fall prey to the illness.

 

[toddnjoyce]

Setting aside all the shit above, 20% of nothing is nothing and the bank’ll eat the estate, but that debt won’t pass on.

 

[Eli]

If I were your SIL, I would do a cursory accounting and see if the estate is even in the black. It may not be worth obligating herself over.

Eli

 

[benenglish]

...that debt won’t pass on.

QFT, something it seems a lot of posters don't realize.

That is a hazmat cleanup.

Maybe but probably not.

Whether the house is sold as-is or is cleaned up and sold for the best price, a professional cleaning company that deals with hoarding cleanups will be needed. They charge high prices but they're worth it, IMO. You might spend $25K+ but that house could be cleaned out and look ready for move-in by the end of the week. Obviously, it's only worth doing if the math works...and it often doesn't.

When the math doesn't work, it's often best to take an as-is offer and walk away. Otherwise, the heirs are looking at a new hobby, breaking their back cleaning up the place by themselves in every spare minute for the next few weeks at least. Months, more likely.

I speak from experience on this, fwiw.

 

[cycleguy2300]

It's not for us to understand nor is it for us to judge.

How very Leftist for us to assume it's a mental health issue because we don't agree.

It's not my cup of tea, but if he liked it that way, then good for him.

Depending on what the neighbor offers, it may be worth hiring a crew to clean it out and put it on the market.

The behaviors evidenced by the photos appear to be "hoarding" which is an anxiety disorder (mental illness). It doesn't mean they are a bad person and its no wronger to see the photos and say "hoarder" than to see a a photo of someone with a cancerous mole and suggest there may be cancer.

Sent from my SM-S918B using Tapatalk

 

[toddnjoyce]

…Whether the house is sold as-is or is cleaned up and sold for the best price, a professional cleaning company that deals with hoarding cleanups will be needed...

Unless the estate has the cash to do this, I wouldn’t even mess with it and take the as-is offer.

The only way to make money on this type of deal is through sweat equity, but even having just a dumpster dropped for a week still has a cost and cleaning up someone else’s problem usually isn’t worth it.

 

[popper]

Looks like my bro's place when he passed. Closed the door to the bedroom when his wife passed 5 yrs previous, never cleaned anything. Had an uncle who just walked away from everything when his wife passed. Heard the LE in Ca took him from the street to a hosp, Dad get him back to KC but he didn't last long. Mental state vs a real mental problem.

 

[Ausländer]

I was the executor for my FiL's estate and don't recommend the experience to anyone. It took just over 2 years to close out everything and that was with a lawyer assisting with the debit collectors (credit cards, truck, etc). Doing the paperwork with the state to get access to the accounts, being able to sign paperwork in the estates name, etc can be very stressful.

It's true that the debt normally does not pass along that's not always true. For example, if you are/were the partner/spouse and your name is on the CC, loan paperwork, etc. - well, you are probably going to be held liable.

Using a lawyer to negotiate down the debt payoff is worthwhile. As soon as the credit holders find out about the passing they go into full intimidation & predator mode - they will call, mail and generally harass you (the executor is the POC and their contact info is shared) saying that the bill has to be paid now or face legal action, yada yada. They are doing this so they don't have to settle for a lower amount. What they don't want you to know is that credit cards are unsecured debt - this means they are the last ones to get paid back (if at all). That's why they are the most aggressive. This is where a lawyer comes in - let them deal with the collectors and act as an intermediary. The funeral and other arrangements are stressful enough without having to deal with phone calls and letters.

Dealing with Social Security Administration, the VA, DFAS, IRS, County Tax office, etc... are a headache on their own. Expect them to take a looong time to respond to you for any questions or clarifications or payments. I had to write our representatives to get them to push the IRS and the VA into responding.

Keep track of assets sold at auction or garage sales or however and how much you get for them. This can be used against the debt collectors when negotiating down the payment.

Any bills paid (cleanup, repairs, etc) can be used on the final taxes - ONLY use estate money for this (if there is any). The executor will probably need to open an estate account and get a tax ID, but my suggestion is to let a professional tax person deal with the IRS filings.

If anything goes to repossession, then the estate will be held liable for the difference between what the item sells for at auction and how much is left on the loan. Example: camper is taken and sold at auction for $10k, but the amount owed is $15k, then the estate still owes $5k.

Hopefully my experience was the exception and others have it easier...

 

[benenglish]

Hopefully my experience was the exception and others have it easier...

I think you're describing more problems than most people will have. Even in the simplest cases, clearing up everything takes a bit of work. Once things aren't simple, the headaches grow exponentially.

 

[deemus]

I would echo a couple posts above. For 20%, I wouldn't be doing a ton of work. Looks like a "back a dumpster to the door and put most of it in there" situation. If he didn't have much money in his bank account, you might not be able to afford a cleaning service. Though in some small towns you might have someone who would do it cheap. Hard to get a grip on how big that house is, but it looks small.

The as is offer might be the way to go, especially if the sister who gets 80% isn't doing 80% of the work.

Had to help deal with a relative's home once (for free). A group helped themselves to everything of value in that house. Then I helped my parents fill up a dumpster 3 times. Just papers and empty boxes and crap. I did get a lead doorstop for my "inheritance."