What happens to a mortgage after death?

The mortgage stays with the property. Death does not cancel it, and a lender can still enforce its lien even if it never files a claim in the probate case (§ 733.702(4)(a), § 733.710(3)). Florida’s homestead protection does not apply against a loan used to buy or improve the home (Art. X, § 4, Fla. Const.).

Heirs are not personally liable for the decedent’s mortgage unless they signed the loan. But someone has to keep paying it, refinance it, or sell the property, or the lender can eventually foreclose. For most homes, federal law bars the lender from calling the loan due just because it passes to a relative at death (12 U.S.C. § 1701j-3(d)).

Due-on-sale protection

For a residential loan on a property with fewer than five units, the lender may not use a due-on-sale clause because of a transfer to a relative resulting from the borrower’s death, a transfer that makes the borrower’s spouse or children owners, or a transfer on the death of a joint tenant or tenant by the entireties (12 U.S.C. § 1701j-3(d)). The heirs can keep the loan in place if the payments continue.

Dealing with the servicer

Federal mortgage-servicing rules treat a relative who inherits the property as a potential successor in interest. Covered servicers must communicate with that person, tell them what documents are needed to confirm their ownership, and then confirm their status (12 C.F.R. §§ 1024.31, 1024.38). Once confirmed, a successor can get account information and apply for loss-mitigation options.

Paying the mortgage during probate

The personal representative may use estate funds to keep the loan current while the property is being administered or sold, if the estate has the money. If the home is protected homestead, it passes outside the personal representative’s control, and the heirs usually pay. Creditors cannot levy on estate property without court approval, but that does not stop enforcement of mortgages and liens (§ 733.706).

What changes the answer

Whether any heir also signed the loan
Whether the property is protected homestead
Whether the estate has funds to keep paying
Whether the heirs want to keep, rent, or sell the home
Whether the loan is a reverse mortgage, which follows different terms

An example

A father dies owing $140,000 on his home, which his son and daughter inherit. Neither signed the loan. They send the servicer a death certificate and ask how to be confirmed as successors in interest. While they decide what to do, they keep the payments current from their father’s savings. Six months later they sell the house; the mortgage is paid off at closing, and they split what remains.

Common mistakes

Stopping payments while waiting for probate
Assuming the lender will call the loan because the borrower died
Paying the mortgage from personal funds without keeping records
Assuming homestead status protects the house from the mortgage

What to gather

Recent mortgage statements and the servicer’s contact information
The deed and the will or trust
Certified death certificates
Proof of each heir’s relationship and ownership interest

Next step

Notify the servicer in writing, ask what it needs to confirm the heirs as successors in interest, and keep the payments current while the family decides.

Related guidance

Sources: Art. X, § 4, Fla. Const.; Florida Statutes § 733.702, § 733.706, and § 733.710 (2026); 12 U.S.C. § 1701j-3(d); 12 C.F.R. §§ 1024.31 and 1024.38. Checked on October 23, 2026.