Does the lender or servicer who administers the escrow account charge the borrower a fee for such?

And for a simple estate, where you are the only heir, you can administer the probate yourself -- no attorney needed.If your parents (or the property you are to inherit) are in a state where probate costs based on the value of the estate can be expensive, then the way to avoid probate is to use a living trust as the title transfer vehicle.

You may want to ask the clerk for Notice of Hearing on Petition for Formal Probate and Appointment of Personal Representative.In CA probate headings are filed as Notice of Petition to Administer Estate.As long as you have the decedents name and case number I don't know why the clerk couldn't assist you with a file..

The method doesn't have to lead to all 5.Also, I don't want to rely on notices to administer the estate of so and so to determine who is dead.

If this is something you pursue call the bank that administers your 401k and tell them what you plan to do with the loan.

@Austin DavisThere are many administrators and custodians that administer checkbook IRA's and LLC.

If the business has employees, a more robust type of 401k that is more complex to administer and not a great self-directed investment platform is required.

If "the person living in the house has a life estate," the Will could have left someone a Life Estate in the property.On the other hand, if there was not a Will, then state law could have created a Life Estate for "the person living in the house" and now the heir, or heirs, are administering, not probating, the Estate, and the Court has permitted the Administrator to sell the property.If you have not already been told this by your attorney, I'm wondering what is going on.In any event, you cannot do anything about the Life Estate of the "person living in the house."  

Travis, HUD also administers other programs like the NSP (Neighborhood Stabilization Program) and HOME (Home Investment Program).

You can ask the existing owner (seller) to serve notice on them, but they are not likely to do that since if the deal falls thru, they have a vacant unit.You will have to follow the terms of the lease, and any other conditions that the housing office administering the section 8 program has.