QUESTION
Can I "cancel" documents I signed without my knowledge?
Asked on Jun 10th, 2014 on Real Estate - New Jersey
More details to this question:
In June of 2008, my (now ex) husband's Mother passed away. I am now realizing (I never saw the will) that she apparently left her 1/2 of a $260,000 house to her children (& their spouses). His Father had passed away first, and left his 1/2 of the house, solely to my husband. After his Mom's death, I was coerced (by my ex) into signing 3 papers (which I was told, were mortgage papers ... yes, he did borrow $130,000, which I now realize, was used to pay off his siblings/spouses, their percentage ... which should have included me). What triggered this for me ... I have been receiving repeated "Internet Security Checks" which tell me that I WAS THE OWNER of his Mother's property. I never knew this. I was able to find one of the papers that I signed, it was a Deed, that changes he & I as the Grantor(s), and leaves JUST HIM as the Grantee, for $1. I am just sick. Also, due to this, he walked away from our marriage, owning that house. I got zero. Do I have any recourse?
1 ANSWER
William Mack
You may. It sounds from your description as if your husband may have defrauded you. If he lied to you about what you were signing, and the result was that you signed over to him your interest in your mother-in-law's home without knowing it, then you MAY have a case against him.
I am not a litigation attorney, so I don't usually deal with these matters. However, it seems to me that while you may have a claim, proving fraud in court will not be easy. This is true especially if there were no witnesses (other than you and your husband) to the events. It will be your word against his in that case, and since you as the plaintiff have the burden of proof of fraud, it may not be an easy thing to win. It would help if you have some other evidence to show he lied to you about what the papers you were signing meant. A letter perhaps, or a note from him to you saying what the documents were.
Good luck.
Answered on Jun 12th, 2014 at 5:08 PM