My sister has cared for my disabled dad for 10 years. But she lives with him. They have been living on my dads ss and pension which will end soon cuz stage4 lung cancer. She hasn't worked so when dad dies. Is she able to get back payments? She has to keep up house payments. Is there any help available for her?
Your sister best bet would be to sell the house and take whatever equity is in the house and start over. Maybe rent for a a year until she can establish herself back into the work force. I doubt a lender would give a person a mortgage if they had worked only a few months, banks like to see a track record.
So sorry to read about your Dad.... his social security and pension will stop once he passes. Normally heirs do not get monthly pensions. I know for my Dad [who is 94] there wasn't an option of getting a lump sum when he retired like what is offered now a days with 401k.
Thus, your sister wouldn't have any funds unless she found work immediately, to pay for the mortgage, pay for the utilities, the home owner insurance, and the property taxes. And any home repairs that tend to crop up unannounced.
Help your sister read the mortgage default section, then contact the lender for clarification and ask how they would address the situation when your father dies.
But Jeanne makes a good point; your sister is likely going to have to get a job, and if she doesn't the lender may not consider her an income qualified buyer.
Also, check the terms of any pension documentation and with the disburser of the pension payments. I'm not specifically familiar with pensions from commercial entities but I recall that when my sister retired she had the option of taking her state pension allotment for herself (higher payout now) or arranging for her heirs to receive the pension after her death (lower payout now for her).
You might also inquire if your father can take the remaining pension in a lump sum, probably depending on what he paid in and who might be left of his original contributions.
This could be an important issue; my sister died shortly after she retired, losing the benefit of almost 30 years of contributions she made to her plan.
I'm sorry to read that your father is suffering from advanced lung cancer and hope that you and your sister can find some help to ease the trauma for all of you.
How old is your sister? Would she be able to get a job now? Is she disabled in any way?
Possibly she would have qualified for some payments if Dad had gone on Medicaid, and could also have inherited the house without any lien for recovery, but that would not apply retroactively.
Many people who have given up wage-earning in favor of caring for a loved one find themselves in your sister's situation. I wish there were a better answer, but unless there is some reason she cannot, I think her best hope is to find a good job.