Can my mother walk away from the home with no ramifications financially? The

Did he die with or without a will? The will would determine who the executor is to handle the estate, which includes dealing with any debts of the deceased. If no will, then she or someone still needs to go to the court house to open a file and the Clerk will appoint an Administrator (basically the same thing as an Executor just a different name since no will), and it might very well be her since she is the spouse. But in either scenario, if she did not sign the promissory note on the mortgage, then she is not personally liable for it and the Lender cannot legally go after her, though they may try (either because they thought she was on it, don't know the laws, or are intentionally trying to ignore the laws and she would want to get an attorney to help respond if the Lender came after her). That being said, if she were interested in keeping the house, then the mortgage would need to be kept up because the Lender would not expect her to live there for free so they would then likely want her to assume the loan or refinance one in her own name. Is she not going to try to sell it? In which case, the mortgage would just be paid off through the proceeds and then she could keep the remaining money, if any. She should consult with an attorney to discuss her property rights as well as going is going on with handling the estate.

It is better to short sell the property.