[Krumben]

Up until a couple of years ago, I had a life estate with my mother. We lived together more than 10 years as she was living on a limited income and couldn't afford housing costs. I invested money in the house, but we also borrowed money against the house for upgrades. After a couple of severe winters, we decided to sell the house and move to Florida. While in the process of selling, I accepted a position in Florida and left with my son. My husband stayed behind with my mother. She became very ill and nearly died. She was hospitalized for a very long time. Her memory of that time is very sketchy.
Now to my question: my mother told me that my name was removed from the deed by my brother and his was added. Can they do that? I signed nothing. It wasn't until recently that I was told that could not be done without my permission, that my signature was required to remove my name. Is there something that could have been added to the deed that would allow a one time transfer of ownership from myself to my brother? I'm still paying a home loan for a home I do not own.
Legally, I am entitled to see this paperwork? I have requested it from the in the past, but have received nothing. Where can I access this?
I have no money to hire a lawyer unless I can prove, without a doubt, that my signature was forged if indeed it was required.

[Fr_Chuck]

If your name was on the actual deed, no you will have to sign to get the name off the deed. Someone would have to had forged your name, or made a improper new deed to do this.

You need to go to the court house and review the deeds on file and see what was there ( where you name was on it) and what is in place now

[ScottGem]

A life estate means the recipient of the estate has the right to occupy the property until their death. At which point ownership reverts back to the original owner of the property.

So when you say you had a "life estate with your mother". Do you mean you owned the property and your mom had the life estate or vice versa? Also, the holder of the life estate cannot sell the property. Nor can the original owner without the life estate holder's permission. So I'm not sure what you are referring to when you say you decided to sell.

Now if you were the life estate holder and you moved, vacating the property, its possible you abdicated your right to the life estate. There may have been terms within the life estate agreement that allowed for you to be removed from the deed if you moved out.

So, as you can see, there are more questions here that need answering before we can offer any advice.

[AK lawyer]

A deed is not like a check, which can be payable from A to B, and endorsed from B to C, from C to D, etc. A deed, on the other hand, is a one-time transaction transferring title from A to B. With respect to real property ownership, it is more accurate to say that so-in-so's name is removed from the title, not from "the deed". I say this because, I suspect your name wasn't literally "removed from the deed" (using White-out perhaps?) by your brother. Similarly, I suspect your brother's name wasn't literally added to your deed (on top of such White-out).

Thus, at some point someone (your mother, perhaps) conveyed title to the two of you (you and your mother). I would guess that the grantees named in this deed were your mother (as life tenant) and you (as receiving a "remainder"). You would be called the "remainderman"). This deed is (Correct me if I am wrong) not changed.

A life estate/remainder is a form of shared ownership. Each actially "owns"part of the property: the life tenant owns the part which ends with his or her death; the remainderman owns the... remainder.

Then, apparently, your brother somehow got someone to sign a new deed, conveying the remainder from you to him. Unless you had executed a valid power of attorney, and assuming you weren't the person who signed it, this new deed would be either a forgery or would be ineffective to pass title to your remainder.

And yes, of course you can see a copy of the deed at issue. It would be recorded, usually at the county courthouse, and if so is a matter of public record. Simply contact the recorder and arrange for a copy to be sent to you.

[Krumben]

To clarify: My mother owned the property. I did not vacate the property. We were all moving, however my mother and my husband stayed behind to continue with the sales process. I was not in charge of selling the house, my mother was. It was important that everyone concerned understood that this was a process she initiated. From July through October, My mother nearly died because of a faulty pacemaker June and another in August, due in part to my brother's negligence. During the time of her convalescence, I was notified that my name was removed from the deed. I vacated nothing. My family was living in two states in a time of emergency.

[Krumben]

Scott, I misspoke. I owned the property, my mother had the life estate. However, the circumstances clearly indicate that nothing was vacated. If this is what was done, we were duped. Recourse?

[AK lawyer]

Scott, I misspoke. I owned the property, ...

As I said earlier, both of your "owned" interests in the property.

... However, the circumstances clearly indicate that nothing was vacated. If this is what was done, we were duped. Recourse?

I don't know what you mean by "vacated", but in any event it appears that someone forged a deed. Your recourse would be to

1. get a copy of the deed;
2. acertain that it is a forgery; and
3. file suit to have the deed declared to be false.

If the property was sold to some third party, you would have course notify them that you claim the property and that they have a problem.

If your mother actually signed the deed, these third-party purchasers may own her life estate, and be entitled to possession for the remainder of her life. That would have course depend on her mental capacity at the time she signed, if she did in fact sign it.

[ScottGem]

I used the term vacate the property because you were unclear about the ownership. I was offering the possibility that, if you had the life estate, your moving out (vacating) could have ended that interest.

But since you were the "owner" with your mom holding the life estate, then you needed to sign any transfer of ownership to someone else. If you did not sign such, then a forgery was done, see AK's answer.