I am being held and bound to a mortgage on a home that I no longer own legally

This is a common but difficult situation. The divorce agreement may have assigned the home to your ex-husband, but that does not remove your name from the mortgage. The only way to be released from liability is through a refinance or payoff—which unfortunately didn’t happen. The lender’s contract remains binding until that loan is satisfied or refinanced in someone else’s name. Because your ex-husband has passed away, his estate (and possibly his heirs) is now responsible for the property. However, since your name is still on the loan, the bank can still report or pursue you if payments lapse. You may have a claim against his estate for failing to refinance as required by the divorce decree, but that’s something you’d need to address through probate or civil court. You should gather the divorce judgment, the deed, and mortgage statements, then speak with a North Carolina family law or real estate attorney. They can review whether the property legally transferred to his sister and what options exist to have you removed from the mortgage or to protect your credit and financial interests going forward.