On 08/20/2014 7:55 PM, amdx wrote:
....

I just want $20k and my name off the house.

Options?

The latter is easy, the former "not so much".

You really have no leverage w/o playing hardball and even then there's
nothing to prevent her from just defaulting and filing bankruptcy if it
comes to that.

While it's unfortunate, you can't teach responsibility at this age and
it's not likely to be learned on its own, either.

I don't see any options that are palatable as others have said.

While it's too late now, the moral is the banking accounts should never
have had ownership changed, only limited POA and a responsible oversight
that monies were only used to benefit Mom while alive. Once she passed,
the assets remaining would have still been in the estate and subject to
the terms of the will on division. At _that_ point you could have
possibly recovered some cash in lieu of the half of the house and come
out reasonably whole. With what cash assets there were not in the
estate, your interest in the house is basically all there is and that's
of no cash value unless force a sale or you do try to finance it for her
or the like. Like another says, don't make the mistake of compounding
the problem by co-signing on an external mortgage or anything of that
ilk. It's one thing to have to forgive an uncollectable debt, it's
something else entirely to have to pay it off to a third party.

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