Can anyone go after her assets?

Once the home is foreclosed upon, and the bank sells the property at auction for less than the amount remaining on the mortgage, then that bank has two options to go after the person for the delinquency or to write it off and inform the IRS of the delinquency. If the bank attempts to go directly after your mother they must follow the laws of your state in collecting that debt. Basically if they take her to court and she has any other properties such as a second home or something that a lien can be attached to such as a piece of property, they may go after her assets in that way. They can go after cars, jewelry or other assets of that nature, such as a bankruptcy trustee would be able to go after. But if they do receive a judgment in court, what ever your state allows them to garnish wages or any other form of income that is a possibility. The most likely result will be that they write off the delinquency and send you a 1099 IRS form. What this means is if the house had a mortgage of $200,000 on it and the property sold at foreclosure sale for $100,000, they would be a delinquency of $100,000. They informed this to the IRS and send you a 1099 form, for your taxes. What this means is you will be forced to pay by the IRS income taxes equal to the amount you would have paid if you had actually made $100,000 in that tax year. This is why it is critical if you're going to be foreclosed upon that you file bankruptcy and have the mortgage discharged prior to a foreclosure sale. I have responded to your inquiry according to the laws of Massachusetts, where my firm is located. Laws can vary significantly from state to state and cases tend to be rather fact-specific, so you are best served by consulting with a knowledgeable attorney in weighing your options. Email messages/Online Correspondence are akin to conversations and do not reflect the level of analysis applied to formal legal opinions. Email/Online responses do not form an attorney-client relationship.    Joseph F. Botelho, Esq. BOTELHO LAW GROUP Attorneys At Law http://fallriverbankruptcyattorney.com/ 901 Eastern Ave.  Unit 2 Fall River, MA 02723  Office:  888-269-0688 FAX:    877-475-8147