Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

I assume that after 1999 the house in question was entirely the separate property of the woman. I guess the problem your question addresses is whether she can continue to hold title as "Jane Doe, a married woman, as her separate property" instead of "Jane Doe, an unmarried woman." This is legal, although it is possible to change the form of holding title by recording a deed to one's self.

On the other hand, you may be asking whether the refinancing loan documents themselves should state "Jane Doe, an unmarried woman" rather than "Jane Doe, a married woman dealing with her separate property." If the question is about the loan applications, documents and transactions, another issue might arise, namely, whether the lender was defrauded by a false loan application, etc.

If fraud on the lender is the issue that concerns you, I'd say it's possible, but rather unlikely, that the woman has committed an actionable fraud. There are too many things the lenders would have to establish to prove fraud, including the woman's intent to deceive and that the lender's reliance on the deception was reasonable, and that the lender suffered losses as a consequence.

It is not "legal" to mis-state any material fact on a credit application, but there must be a bad intent, reliance and harm done before it becomes a legal problem for the woman.