Consumer complaint received 2015-04-26
Product: Mortgage — FHA mortgage
Issue: Loan servicing, payments, escrow account — 
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY (MI)

When my ex-husband died in XX/XX/XXXX I was successor trustee of his estate. The only asset in the trust was his vacant house. He had a balance of more than {$30000.00} with Wells Fargo on the home mortgage. There were no cash assets in the trust. I made the $ XXXX monthly payment on the house because our XXXX son wanted to be able to live there. The house could not be lived in at the time because of the repairs that needed to be done, and we could only afford minimum outlay so he was doing as much as he could himself. Then my son died in XX/XX/XXXX, and I had no use for the house, and consulted Wells Fargo to see if I could sell it. They told me I could not sell the house unless I paid it off and got a new mortgage, which I was in no position to do. I continued to make payments through XXXX of XXXX when a real estate friend of my said I should find out if I even had to make the payments, since I was not the owner and my name was neither on the house or the mortgage. I consulted an attorney who told me I had never had to make payments from my own personal money, I only was legally obligated to pay from money in the trust. Since there were never any cash assets in the trust, I had no legal responsibility to make the payments. In XXXX I stopped the automatic withdrawals from my account and informed Wells Fargo by phone that I was not making any more payments. They still withdrew the XXXX payment. I was incensed! I called and demanded they return the money to my account. I once again explained that I was the successor trustee and was not obligated to pay. The representative said " Oh, it does n't say you 're the successor trustee. I 'll have the payment returned. '' Which she did. My problem is Wells Fargo had a complete copy of the trust within XXXX months of my ex-husband 's death. The trust clearly shows no cash assets. They knew I was not legally responsible for the payments. My last correspondence with Wells Fargo was to inform them that they had no legal right to the payments I had made, and I wanted them to return the {$26000.00} they had illegally accepted. They wrote back, and the response was astonishing. It read : '' While speaking to you regarding the inquiry, you further advised me that the successor trustee was not personally liable to pay the mortgage balance. You also make this statement in our inquiry as well. 
" At no time were you personally liable for this mortgage. Therefore we deny your request to refund the monies requested. " I have had no further contact with Wells Fargo, though they continue to send statements to the estate of my dead ex-husband c/o me at my address. I finally wrote " deceased '' on a letter and sent it back. Have heard nothing from them since. When they were still sending the estate letters c/o me, I learned they were putting the house in auction. This house, if in good condition, would be worth about {$40000.00}. As it sits, neglected for the last ten years, it needs a complete re-hab according to the building inspection. The cost would be at least {$20000.00}. I paid ( when I thought I had to ready it for sale ) to clear all the accumulated junk ( XXXX dumpsters ), clear the back drain, take down a diseased tree and keep the lawn mowed. I would dearly love to find a way to make Wells Fargo repay the money they knew they were not legally entitled to. I certainly want to keep them from doing this to someone else. I am XXXX, and in good health, but the next successor trustee might not be so fortunate. Wells Fargo should not be able to get away with this again. I would like to know if what they did was illegal, and if I can get my money back. I have copies of all correspondence and records of everything that happened from the date of the original mortgage to the date of the refinance.