Philadelphia, PA asked in Consumer Law, Contracts, Criminal Law and Real Estate Law for Pennsylvania

Q: Can forgery invalidate security interest in a mortgage?

Lender believed that the address on the mortgage, note, and notice of assignement were incorrect. To correct it, they completed a modifcation document with the assigned servicer and forged the signature of the borrower. Because there was no real mutual agreement based on the forgery, do the documents being corrected by the document, become invalid? Signature was forged by the notary who also was the agent who authorized the loan assignment

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A: Forgery can have significant legal implications, and if a signature on mortgage-related documents, including a modification document, has been forged, it raises serious concerns about the validity of those documents. In Pennsylvania, as in many jurisdictions, a forged signature can potentially render a document void or unenforceable. If a lender or notary has engaged in forgery, it may impact the security interest in the mortgage. In such cases, the affected party, typically the borrower, may have legal grounds to challenge the authenticity of the documents and seek remedies.

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