Q: Am I liable for a mortgage if I did not fill out the loan application but am on the deed?

A: If your signature appears on the Note and the Deed of Trust, you are liable. If that signature was a forgery, you need to deal with that. Ignoring it while knowing about it, particularly between spouses or ex-spouses, might act as apparent authority or ratification. If you let it stand, it could become your signature retroactively.

A: To answer the last question first, a deed does not in and of itself have anything to do with obligation on a loan. So if the loan is not paid off, the mere recording of a deed doesn't change anyone's liability.

More generally, in some situations, there is a loan by one but not all of the owners as borrowers. There are two related questions about "being liable" when someone is on the deed but not the loan. First, the non-borrower generally risks the lender taking the collateral for the loan (i.e., the house) if the borrower defaults. Second, the non-borrower would not bear any financial responsibility for the debt if they never took out the loan or otherwise agreed to repay it.

It isn't clear from the scenario whether you confirmed a forgery or assumed that the documents were forged because you were not there. As another attorney noted, in some (but not all) situations, knowing about a signature issue and doing nothing about it may operate as a waiver of later objection at some point.

An attorney cannot realistically answer more detailed questions without looking at the documents in question. You are encouraged to seek legal advice, perhaps starting with whatever counsel assisted with the divorce proceeding, assuming they are also knowledgeable about real estate law.

A: You may not be personally liable to pay the mortgage, but if the mortgage payments and not made, and the lender for closers on the real estate, you will lose it just the same.