The debtor, who had only a remainder interest in her mother’s property and was not a signatory to her mother’s reverse mortgage, was not a “borrower” entitled to remain in the residence after her mother’s death without paying the underlying debt. Reverse Mortgage Solutions v. Nunez, No. 18-22204 (S.D. Fla. March 21, 2019).
Aleida Nunez’s mother borrowed $531,000 secured by a reverse mortgage on her residence. The loan was memorialized in a Home Equity Conversion Note (Note) and a Home Equity Conversion Loan Agreement (Loan Agreement). The Note stated that the loan was secured by property described in a Security Instrument. While Ms. Nunez’s mother was the only signatory to the Note and Loan Agreement, Ms. Nunez was listed on the Security Instrument as having a “remainderman interest,” and she signed the document as “remainderman.” After her mother died, Ms. Nunez filed for chapter 13 bankruptcy and proposed a plan under which she would be treated as a borrower under the reverse mortgage, allowing her to cure tax and insurance defaults on the residence while continuing to live in the house without paying off the underlying loan. RMS objected to the plan, arguing that Ms. Nunez was not a borrower and that her mother’s death rendered the debt due. Read More
