Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Kansas
About 7 or so years ago my mother filed bankruptcy and turned her house over for foreclosure. The house was covered in the bankruptcy, but the bank that owns the home never foreclosed. To this date, since they have never taken her name off of the property the city/county is still trying to tax her and requires her to keep the property clean and manicured.
She is afraid she is going to have to pay for these taxes even though she doesn't own the home anymore. She has tried to contact the bank, and they keep telling her to write a letter to their correspondence department and they will look it over. Is she responsible for taxes on a property she doesn't legally own? Is she responsible to keep the property up? Does she have a case if she decides to pursue a suit?
1 Answer from Attorneys
It seems that you may be incorrect in assuming that your mother no longer has an ownership interest in the home. She needs to examine her bankruptcy filings and the Orders from the Court. If she can't locate or make sense of them, ask the attorney that represented her in the bankruptcy. Not all home loans are discharged or extinguished in all bankruptcy chapters. She may have attempted to relieve herself of the burden of the loan, while still having an ownership interest in the home and land. She may have succeeded in doing that.
Your mother may own a house that she no longer owes any money on. She might have the right to live in or rent out the property, while the lender has a lien on the sale of the property. If she previously sent a copy of her Bankruptcy Discharge to the County and City, and they still make requirements on her, she may still own the place. If the bank has not foreclosed or done anything relative to the title with the Recorder of Deeds office, she may have rights and obligations to the house. If that was not her intention when she field bankruptcy, it might be her former attorney's obligation to make things right.
Good luck
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