Mom's house still has a mortgage. What happens to it now?
The mortgage doesn't die with her — it stays attached to the house. The estate keeps making payments until the house sells or someone takes it over, and the loan gets paid off from the proceeds at closing, like any other sale.
Two protections worth knowing. Federal law generally prevents the lender from calling the loan due just because the home passed to family — an inheriting child who wants to keep the house can usually continue the payments. And servicers have a process for exactly this situation. The worst move is silence. Notify them, keep payments current, and the estate stays in control of the timeline. Let payments slide while everyone grieves, and a foreclosure clock can start anyway.
The attorney handles the estate side; I'm not a lawyer, and this isn't legal advice. I handle the house. Just call.
I wrote this answer, and I stand behind it. I'm Chris Deutsch, a Minneapolis Realtor (MN #20382264). Twenty-five years of walking these neighborhoods, checking basements, and sitting across kitchen tables from people making exactly this call. I re-check every answer and date it — this one was last verified .
If your situation is more specific than the market, that's the one worth talking through. Email me at chris@lakesarearealty.com.