My husband says my name is on the mortgage, but not on the note or deed. He says the lender would not allow my name on the deed because I was unemployed at the time (never mind the 40% down pmt came from me.)
He also says I am not responsible for paying the loan because I am not on the note, just the mortgage. Does all this sound plausible?

Sure it is very plausible. A married spouse is not required to be on the mortgage (note) in any state that I know of. As far as the deed goes, this is, however, state dependent. In Michigan, for example, if a married man purchases a home, albeit a primary, second an/or investment property, the spouse must be on title. However, a married woman can buy home and not ad her spouse. Let me ask you this... did you go to the closing? If so... did you sign anything?? If so, more than likely you were quit claiming onto title. When you get your mortgage statement in the mail, is you name on it, or just your husband's? Also, call your local county registry of deeds. Titles are public record.

Sorry I don't believe it, but then I could be wrong, lenders are silly. It is the mortgage that they would have issues with.
First?? Your husband "says" your name is on the mortgage, you would have been there when you signed about 100 papers for about a hour when you closed on the house.

So you should see a copy of th mortgage and also see a copy of the deed.

But you can in general esp if you are already on the mortgage, merely have him quitclaim over 1/2 or joint ownership of the house.

Thanks for quick response. I was at closing... signed the mortgage. Again, husband stating mortgage is not the same as the note. He says he can add me to the title if/ when we refinance. Mortgage pmt book goes to his office. Did I mention he's an atty?
Wondering about his statement that I was not able to be put on title when we purchased house 5 yrs ago because I was not employed then.

Yes, your husband is (probably) correct. Being on the mortgage is not the same as being on the mortgage note. The mortgage note is the actual obligation to pay back the loan. The mortgage is the security instrument. By signing the mortgage you agreed that the lender would have the right to foreclose on the property if your husband does not repay the note. The reason that you were required to sign the mortgage, even though your name does not appear on the deed, is because of any rights you might have to ownership of the property by state law because of your marriage.

The reason I said that your husband is probably correct is because of the issue of you being added to the deed at the time you purchased the house. You don't have to be employed to be an owner. But the type of loan he obtained when you bought the house may have required that you not be listed on the note due to credit issues and qualification. That lender's policy may be to require that all listed owners must also be on the note. So you being an owner may have adversely affected the type of loan the two of you could get.

I wouldn't trust it if my name was only on the mortgage. You need your name on the title only not the mortgage to stake a claim to the property. While things are rosy right now with your husband later on down the road I foresee a ton of problems. It will depend on your state whether you may own the property 100% if your husband should pass away. That said some states will give only an elective share which would mean peanuts. At any time your husband may add your name. Your husband if he loves you would want to protect you. If you divorce the lack of your name on the title may come into play. The way it is today means you will get lousy credit if you miss a payment on your house, however, the clincher is you don't OWN it. Lesson learned.

In New York state if my name is on the deed for a house and is foreclosure am I responsible for mortgage payments

You are not responsible for the mortgage payments if your name is only on the deed but not on the mortgage. However if the person whose name is on the mortgage note is not making the payments then the foreclosure will probably continue.

So do we go back to lender to add me to the deed

I actually think your husband is legit and it is good you are not on the promisary note because in my experience if you are not on the note YOU have no obligation to pay even if named on mortgage. Try to add name to deed because you can't sell if not in title. It was probably true that the bank wouldn't put name without signing note but don't sign and just get name added through quit claim.