Father died my name is listed as co-owner on deed but the mortgage is in his name does the mortgage have to go into his estate?

You have no responsibility or tie to the mortgage. The mortgage was on your fathers property, not yours. The fact that you had an interest in that property as well is basically besides the fact. Since the debt is owed by your father and not by you, your father (or his estate) needs to pay it. This situation is basically what life insurance is for (although usually that's because of a spouse, not a son, but it's the same idea). That being said, if you are capable of getting a loan, or the estate is capable of paying off the loan, you can keep the property. But no, you cannot simply transfer your fathers loan to you. This is not legal advice and is not intended to create an attorney-client relationship. The post is only an opinion. You should speak to an attorney for further information. The poster is licensed only in CT & NY. Please visit www.hamadlawfirm.com for more information about our services. If this post is useful to you, please remember to upvote it.

There are a few things you need to consider. First, there are several different types of co-ownership. You need to find out if you are a joint tenant with a right of survivorship or a tenant in common. The deed itself will help in figuring this out (you may need to consult a lawyer too). Second, you need to know when you became a co-owner. More specifically, you need to know whether you became a co-owner before or after the mortgage. You will want to use the dates that the deed and the mortgage were recorded with the Suffolk County clerk. If you had a right of survivorship then the property is entirely yours. If you were a tenant in common with your father, his interest will have to go through probate. If you became a co-owner before the mortgage, and did not sign the mortgage, your interest is not subject to the mortgage (assuming you did not sign the mortgage). The debt would still have to be paid but the bank could not foreclose you out for non-payment. If you became a co-owner after the mortgage, your interest is subject to the mortgage and the bank could foreclose you out if the debt is not paid. In short, the "mortgage" interest in the property is security (collateral) for repayment of a debt your father owed. The bank has no obligation to release its mortgage interest until the debt is fully paid. I think you should talk to a lawyer to sort out the situation for you. As you can probably tell from what I have written, it is not an easy question to answer without more information.

I am not an attorney in New York and I believe the two New York attorneys have given very good answers. You can not just transfer a loan to yourself. The mortgage company does not know you and you can understand that it wants to protect its interest. As was indicated in one of the answers, it is not clear from what you wrote, your ownership interest in the property. I would advise arranging a meeting with an attorney. In less than an hour you should have all of the information you need to know to make an informed decision going forward.