Inherited a home with a mortgage? Successor-in-interest rights

Heirs and successors in interest

If you received the home when a borrower died (or through divorce or a family transfer), you can ask the servicer to confirm you as a successor in interest. Once confirmed, you are treated as a borrower for the servicing rules — including loss mitigation.

• Send a written notice with your relationship and ask what documents they need to confirm you (for example, death certificate, will or small-estate affidavit, heirship affidavit).
• The servicer must promptly tell you which documents it needs and then promptly decide (12 C.F.R. § 1024.38(b)(1)(vi)).
• Probate questions go to a lawyer or legal aid; the Texas “heirship” process has its own steps.

12 C.F.R. § 1024.30(d) · 12 C.F.R. § 1024.38(b)(1)(vi)