Mortgage all paid, but not over

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Forums › Finance and wealth management › Mortgage all paid, but not over

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jonathan18

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#3217459 12-Apr-2024 17:19

Saying they are ‘previous’ lawyers is possibly somewhat premature! - should have said ‘should-be previous’… So, yeah, once we get around to getting new ones done the wills they hold wouldn’t be valid, but even then it’s probably cleaner to uplift the old ones at the same time…

kotuku4

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#3218756 15-Apr-2024 19:28

I left the mortgage in place and make a regular $1 deposit to mortgage account to keep it live. I can take a personal loan, or vehicle loan and use the house as security and get just above mortgage rates for loans.

dimsim

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#3218765 15-Apr-2024 20:14

jonathan18: Saying they are ‘previous’ lawyers is possibly somewhat premature! - should have said ‘should-be previous’… So, yeah, once we get around to getting new ones done the wills they hold wouldn’t be valid, but even then it’s probably cleaner to uplift the old ones at the same time…

A will is a legal document and who holds the will is irrelevant to its validity. As long as the document is available and I'd imagine any Lawyer, regardless of their current status with a client, would need to hand it over if required.

kingdragonfly

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#3218867 16-Apr-2024 07:19

kotuku4: I left the mortgage in place and make a regular $1 deposit to mortgage account to keep it live. I can take a personal loan, or vehicle loan and use the house as security and get just above mortgage rates for loans.

I think you'll find it alive even if you paid it fully. On the contrary, to completely close

a solicitor or conveyancer needs to be involved
directly (you hire) or indirectly (you sell your home)

A conveyancer should be cheaper than a solicitor, but you're probably looking at at least $700 to completely detach the parasite, whoops I meant bank, from your house.

I suggest talking to your bank.

kingdragonfly

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#3218868 16-Apr-2024 07:22

dimsim:
jonathan18: Saying they are ‘previous’ lawyers is possibly somewhat premature! - should have said ‘should-be previous’… So, yeah, once we get around to getting new ones done the wills they hold wouldn’t be valid, but even then it’s probably cleaner to uplift the old ones at the same time…

A will is a legal document and who holds the will is irrelevant to its validity. As long as the document is available and I'd imagine any Lawyer, regardless of their current status with a client, would need to hand it over if required.

I asked Public Trust how they discover a will. I was surprised that there's no central government maintained database of wills. I'm not sure how the will discovery process works.

mkissin

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#3218870 16-Apr-2024 07:40

It’s basically brute force. You can just write to any likely legal firms and ask if they hold any deeds or wills for the deceased. The whole process is slightly odd and very old-school. I’m currently dealing with a similar thing as an executor.

ETA: one reason why it’s much easier if you can get your affairs in order before you die. Make life easy for those dealing with your estate! Discharging a mortgage is easy though, you’ll probably have a lawyer for probate anyway so they just sort it out.

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Wheelbarrow01

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#3219037 16-Apr-2024 10:34

kingdragonfly:

I asked Public Trust how they discover a will. I was surprised that there's no central government maintained database of wills. I'm not sure how the will discovery process works.

From what I can tell, solicitors and other "will keepers" (for want of a better term) actively keep an eye on death notices nationwide. A day or two after my mother passed away, I got calls to her landline from 2-3 lawyers I'd never heard of advising that they were holding a will for my mother dated x date. One was dated in the early 1970's before I was even born.

For a bit of context, she was elderly and had made several wills over the years, but given that I was nominated as an executor years ago, I knew which lawyer held her actual last will so was able to advise the others that they had not won the prize on this occasion lol.

Given the recent news about Public Trust price gouging, it wouldn't surprise me if Public Trust charged an exorbitant fee just for spotting the death notice. "Ooh we read in the paper that your relative died and we hold the will. That's a $1500 notification fee sir! I'm sorry - if you wish to question our pricing, that will cost $550 an hour to discuss".

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